Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%.

Stewart Information Services Stock Up 1.9 %

STC stock traded up $1.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.80. 187,843 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 195,180. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Stewart Information Services has a twelve month low of $56.16 and a twelve month high of $78.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $68.46 and its 200 day moving average is $70.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04 and a beta of 1.23.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total value of $956,073.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,842,259.60. This trade represents a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

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.