Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Stewart Information Services stock opened at $67.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.86. Stewart Information Services has a 52 week low of $56.39 and a 52 week high of $78.44.

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

Insider Transactions at Stewart Information Services

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 138.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 741 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2,735.8% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 70.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 216.1% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,817 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 46.6% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,094 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

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.