Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Investors Title Company (NASDAQ:ITIC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 85,568 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 238% from the previous session’s volume of 25,289 shares.The stock last traded at $283.8450 and had previously closed at $279.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Investors Title from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Investors Title Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $531.68 million, a P/E ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $246.62 and its 200 day moving average is $243.29.

Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Investors Title had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The business had revenue of $63.49 million during the quarter.

Investors Title Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Investors Title’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Investors Title news, Director Jr. Elton C. Parker acquired 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $231.00 per share, for a total transaction of $124,278.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,750 shares in the company, valued at $866,250. The trade was a 16.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 25.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Investors Title

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Investors Title by 18.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 42,303 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,330,000 after purchasing an additional 6,673 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Investors Title by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 36,696 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,163,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Investors Title by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,049 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,501,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Investors Title by 110.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 20,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,028,000 after buying an additional 10,589 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Investors Title by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,015 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,997,000 after buying an additional 4,268 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.40% of the company’s stock.

About Investors Title

Investors Title Company engages in the issuance of residential and commercial title insurance for residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial properties. The company underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as a primary insurer; and assumes the reinsurance of title insurance risks from other title insurance companies. It offers services in connection with tax-deferred exchanges of like-kind property; acts as a qualified intermediary in tax-deferred exchanges of property; coordinates the exchange aspects of the real estate transaction, such as drafting standard exchange documents, holding the exchange funds between the sale of the old property and the purchase of the new property, and accepting the formal identification of the replacement property.