Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

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

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 36.02 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.10.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,842,259.60. The trade was a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 2.2% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 1.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,538 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 57.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2.2% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $863,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.