Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of STC stock opened at $70.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.84. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 0.91. Stewart Information Services has a 12 month low of $56.39 and a 12 month high of $78.44.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $721.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.90 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 3.29% and a return on equity of 7.71%. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Stewart Information Services will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stewart Information Services

In other news, insider Brad Rable sold 5,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total transaction of $371,932.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,559,319.04. This represents a 19.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO David C. Hisey sold 2,224 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.39, for a total transaction of $143,203.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,757,736.01. This trade represents a 3.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2.0% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,715,422 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $113,286,000 after buying an additional 33,413 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Stewart Information Services by 5.0% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 996,558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $71,104,000 after purchasing an additional 47,384 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Stewart Information Services by 18.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 990,168 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $70,648,000 after purchasing an additional 155,210 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Stewart Information Services by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 657,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,813,000 after purchasing an additional 10,236 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in Stewart Information Services by 1.2% in the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 517,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,764,000 after purchasing an additional 5,921 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.