CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Has $1.81 Million Stock Holdings in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co reduced its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 26,756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,063 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Stewart Information Services were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 310.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 807.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,831 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE STC opened at $64.86 on Monday. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 12-month low of $58.61 and a 12-month high of $78.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94 and a beta of 1.05.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The company had revenue of $608.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.50 million. On average, research analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

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.