Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,632 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned about 0.10% of Stewart Information Services worth $1,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Stewart Information Services by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $111,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $204,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total value of $876,196.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,873,370.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on STC. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, July 25th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. 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.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock opened at $75.40 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 12-month low of $38.40 and a 12-month high of $76.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.61 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.49.

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

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is 131.58%.

Stewart Information Services 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.