Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) CEO Frederick H. Eppinger Acquires 3,000 Shares

Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC – Get Rating) CEO Frederick H. Eppinger bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $37.70 per share, with a total value of $113,100.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 115,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,351,183.20. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of STC opened at $36.38 on Friday. Stewart Information Services Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.96 and a fifty-two week high of $69.57. The company has a market capitalization of $986.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 5.29%. The business had revenue of $655.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $622.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. Stewart Information Services’s quarterly revenue was down 31.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Stewart Information Services from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,982,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,778,000 after purchasing an additional 34,355 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,055,044 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $89,683,000 after purchasing an additional 21,654 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,561,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $66,713,000 after purchasing an additional 90,638 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,522,904 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,074,000 after purchasing an additional 418,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 1,251,988 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60,450 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

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Stewart Information Services Corp. is a real estate services company, which engages in the provision of title insurance and settlement-related services. It operates through the Title Insurance and Related Services, and Ancillary Services and Corporate segments. The Title Insurance and Related Services segment consists of searching, examining, closing, and insuring the condition of the title to real property.