Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $76.88 and last traded at $76.34, with a volume of 17874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 35.96 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.59.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $667.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $638.40 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is 94.34%.

Institutional Trading of Stewart Information Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the third quarter worth $61,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the second quarter valued at $65,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services in the first quarter worth about $111,000. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

About Stewart Information Services

Stewart Information Services Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides title insurance and real estate transaction related services in the United States and internationally. The company involves in searching, examining, closing, and insuring the condition of the title to real property. It also offers home and personal insurance services; services for tax-deferred exchanges; and digital customer engagement platform services.