StockNews.com Downgrades Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) to Hold

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on STC. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of STC stock opened at $67.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.46 and a 200 day moving average of $70.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86 and a beta of 1.23. Stewart Information Services has a 1-year low of $58.23 and a 1-year high of $78.44.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,842,259.60. This trade represents a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 149.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 342,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,568,000 after purchasing an additional 204,688 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,247,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,258,000 after acquiring an additional 179,364 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in Stewart Information Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,330,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 985,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,669,000 after purchasing an additional 65,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the 4th quarter valued at $4,034,000. 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.