Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 65,965 Shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 985,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,965 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 3.56% of Stewart Information Services worth $73,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in STC. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 57.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Stewart Information Services during the third quarter worth $61,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Stewart Information Services during the second quarter worth $65,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Stewart Information Services during the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Stewart Information Services during the first quarter worth $111,000. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of STC stock opened at $72.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.03. Stewart Information Services Co. has a one year low of $45.12 and a one year high of $76.83.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $667.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $638.40 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. This is a boost from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on STC. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Stewart Information Services from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

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.