Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New $749,000 Investment in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,098 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $749,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 310.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 0.9 %

Stewart Information Services stock opened at $70.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.06. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 12 month low of $58.23 and a 12 month high of $78.44.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.94%. Analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th.

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.