Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Short Interest Update

Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 762,000 shares, a growth of 20.4% from the November 30th total of 632,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 152,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Stewart Information Services Trading Down 0.6 %

STC traded down $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.49. 109,460 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 181,361. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.06 and its 200 day moving average is $70.43. Stewart Information Services has a 12 month low of $56.16 and a 12 month high of $78.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is presently 94.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Stewart Information Services from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total value of $956,073.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,842,259.60. The trade was a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the third quarter valued at about $61,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Stewart Information Services by 210.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,226 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Stewart Information Services in the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.