StockNews.com Upgrades Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) to Buy

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Stewart Information Services from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

NYSE:STC traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.54. The stock had a trading volume of 184,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,108. Stewart Information Services has a 52 week low of $52.80 and a 52 week high of $78.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $667.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.40 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Stewart Information Services’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Stewart Information Services will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stewart Information Services

In other news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,842,259.60. This represents a 16.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of STC. FMR LLC boosted its position in Stewart Information Services by 0.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,488,342 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $185,979,000 after acquiring an additional 8,853 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,641,717 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $122,702,000 after purchasing an additional 10,811 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 16.8% during the third 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 period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 7.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 985,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,669,000 after buying an additional 65,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 906.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 656,143 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,733,000 after buying an additional 590,977 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.