Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Given New $75.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) had its price target lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $71.00 to $75.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Stewart Information Services from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stephens restated an overweight rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STC opened at $73.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 48.55 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.19 and its 200 day moving average is $64.69. Stewart Information Services has a 52 week low of $38.40 and a 52 week high of $75.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $597.00 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 5.16% and a net margin of 1.85%. Stewart Information Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of Stewart Information Services 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 approximately $3,873,370.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,538 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 906.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 656,143 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,733,000 after purchasing an additional 590,977 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 60,651 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,765,000 after purchasing an additional 4,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 43,032 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,671,000 after purchasing an additional 7,686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

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.