Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Director Thomas Apel Acquires 2,000 Shares of Company Stock

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) Director Thomas Apel bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $47.73 per share, for a total transaction of $95,460.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 46,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,204,266.86. This trade represents a 4.53% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock traded down $1.07 on Monday, reaching $43.00. 846,107 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,096. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.20. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.17). Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 9.39% and a net margin of 3.58%. The company had revenue of $900.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $903.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5250. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is 55.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 20.4% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,794 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 93.6% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,152 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in Stewart Information Services by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 5,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on STC. Weiss Ratings lowered Stewart Information Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Stewart Information Services from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Stephens decreased their price target on Stewart Information Services from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.75.

About Stewart Information Services

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC) is a global provider of title insurance and real estate transaction services. Through its Stewart Title operations, the company helps protect property owners, lenders and other participants from losses arising from defects in a property’s title.

The company offers title searches and examinations, title insurance policies, escrow and closing services, settlement services, and related solutions for residential and commercial real estate transactions.