Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Stock Price

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) had its price target raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $74.00 to $75.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target suggests a potential upside of 13.05% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on STC. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of STC traded down $1.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.34. The stock had a trading volume of 79,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,099. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.43. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.17 and a beta of 1.23. Stewart Information Services has a 1-year low of $56.16 and a 1-year high of $78.44.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 2.47%. Equities research analysts expect that Stewart Information Services will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,330 shares in the company, valued at $4,842,259.60. This represents a 16.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 0.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,488,342 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $185,979,000 after purchasing an additional 8,853 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,651,849 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $108,741,000 after buying an additional 10,132 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,247,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,258,000 after buying an additional 179,364 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 7.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 985,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,669,000 after acquiring an additional 65,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 630,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,151,000 after buying an additional 8,597 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.