Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

STC has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on Stewart Information Services in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 1.2%

STC stock opened at $62.14 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Stewart Information Services has a 12-month low of $57.10 and a 12-month high of $78.61. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $67.77 and its 200 day moving average is $66.50.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $895.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.07 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 4.12%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In other news, insider Brian Glaze sold 1,500 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total value of $103,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,981.44. The trade was a 11.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STC. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 981 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the second quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the second quarter valued at about $80,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Stewart Information Services

Stewart Information Services Corporation is a title insurance and real estate services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through its Stewart Title operations, the company provides title insurance, escrow and closing services, and related services that help protect property buyers, lenders and other participants in real estate transactions from title defects and ownership-related risks.

The company also offers valuation and appraisal services, mortgage services, and technology-enabled solutions for the real estate and mortgage industries.