Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $76.88 and last traded at $76.77, with a volume of 100868 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.09.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is 94.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $71.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.10. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 36.02 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $956,073.88. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 8.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 83,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,211,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 57.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2.2% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.