Eagle Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 47,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,432,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.17% of Stewart Information Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in 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 during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $61,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the second quarter valued at about $65,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the second quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the first quarter worth about $111,000. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STC traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.12. 122,801 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 183,080. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 35.17 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $71.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.68. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 12 month low of $45.53 and a 12 month high of $76.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $667.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $638.40 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 2.47%. The business's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Stewart Information Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.34%.

Stewart Information Services Profile

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.