Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.21 EPS

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.21, Yahoo Finance reports. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 5.16% and a net margin of 1.85%. The business had revenue of $667.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Stewart Information Services’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 3.4 %

Stewart Information Services stock traded down $2.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.03. The stock had a trading volume of 119,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 188,767. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 45.41 and a beta of 1.20. Stewart Information Services has a fifty-two week low of $38.40 and a fifty-two week high of $76.83. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is presently 131.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stewart Information Services news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 12,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.27, for a total transaction of $876,196.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 55,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,873,370.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.