Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Grows Stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned 0.05% of Stewart Information Services worth $863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Stewart Information Services by 57.7% in the second 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. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in Stewart Information Services by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 23,954 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Stewart Information Services by 7.3% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,410 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STC has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $61.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. BTIG Research lifted 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 cut Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total value of $876,196.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,873,370.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Stewart Information Services stock opened at $73.53 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Stewart Information Services Co. has a twelve month low of $38.40 and a twelve month high of $74.46. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 48.38 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 125.00%.

Stewart Information Services Company 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.