Truist Financial Corp Increases Stock Position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 7.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 1.4% in 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. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STC opened at $70.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. 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 $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.33 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.97.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.13). Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 5.16% and a net margin of 1.85%. 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is currently 131.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total transaction of $876,196.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,917 shares in the company, valued at $3,873,370.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% 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.