Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the four brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $51.50.

STC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 888 reissued a “downgrade” rating on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Frederick H. Eppinger acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.00 per share, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 117,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,931,472. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Stewart Information Services news, Director C Allen Bradley, Jr. acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.91 per share, for a total transaction of $41,910.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 16,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,894.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frederick H. Eppinger bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.00 per share, with a total value of $84,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 117,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,931,472. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STC. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 74.9% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 698 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 60.3% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Stewart Information Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $115,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 92.8% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares during the period. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stewart Information Services Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of STC stock opened at $47.86 on Friday. Stewart Information Services has a one year low of $35.96 and a one year high of $54.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87 and a beta of 1.07.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.05). Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 4.83% and a net margin of 2.06%. The business had revenue of $549.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $585.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.58 earnings per share. Stewart Information Services’s revenue was down 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Stewart Information Services will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

Stewart Information Services Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides title insurance and real estate transaction related services. The company operates through Title and Real Estate Solutions segments. The Title segment is involved in searching, examining, closing, and insuring the condition of the title to real property.