Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Issues Earnings Results

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.21, Yahoo Finance reports. The business had revenue of $667.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.40 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 5.16%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 3.4 %

NYSE:STC traded down $2.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.03. 119,202 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 188,767. Stewart Information Services has a one year low of $38.40 and a one year high of $76.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.11. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 45.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is presently 131.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on STC shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 note on Wednesday, September 4th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total transaction of $876,196.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 55,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,873,370.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

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.