Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Stock Price Down 6.6% – Here’s What Happened

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC)’s stock price fell 6.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $53.97 and last traded at $53.0040. Approximately 168,056 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 232,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on STC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Benchmark started coverage on Stewart Information Services in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Stewart Information Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 7.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.31.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $895.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.07 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 4.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5250. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is 48.25%.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In other news, insider Brian Glaze sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total transaction of $103,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,981.44. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STC. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Stewart Information Services during the second quarter worth about $10,991,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the second quarter worth about $987,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $347,274,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,191,000. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,371,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Stewart Information Services

Stewart Information Services Corporation is a title insurance and real estate services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through its Stewart Title operations, the company provides title insurance, escrow and closing services, and related services that help protect property buyers, lenders and other participants in real estate transactions from title defects and ownership-related risks.

The company also offers valuation and appraisal services, mortgage services, and technology-enabled solutions for the real estate and mortgage industries.