Insider Buying: Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Director Buys $93,640.00 in Stock

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) Director William Jr. Corey purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $93,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 13,433 shares in the company, valued at $628,933.06. This represents a 17.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

STC traded down $1.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $43.00. 846,107 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 405,096. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.85. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 12-month low of $42.73 and a 12-month high of $78.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.20. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 1.04.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $900.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $903.67 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 9.39% and a net margin of 3.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5250. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is currently 55.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on STC shares. Benchmark began coverage on Stewart Information Services in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $77.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $347,274,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,759,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,991,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,252,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,211,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC) is a global provider of title insurance and real estate transaction services. Through its Stewart Title operations, the company helps protect property owners, lenders and other participants from losses arising from defects in a property’s title.

The company offers title searches and examinations, title insurance policies, escrow and closing services, settlement services, and related solutions for residential and commercial real estate transactions.