Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Issues Earnings Results

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of STC opened at $65.80 on Thursday. Stewart Information Services has a 52 week low of $56.16 and a 52 week high of $78.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.27 and a 200-day moving average of $70.44.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.34%.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In related news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 65,330 shares in the company, valued at $4,842,259.60. This represents a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on STC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

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.