Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 673,800 shares, a drop of 30.2% from the March 15th total of 965,400 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 195,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STC traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $65.27. The stock had a trading volume of 118,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,336. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.30. Stewart Information Services has a twelve month low of $58.46 and a twelve month high of $78.44.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Stewart Information Services will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is 76.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on STC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Institutional Trading of Stewart Information Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Stewart Information Services by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 29,717 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,006,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,831 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,850 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.