Stewart Information Services (STC) Competitors

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) and Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their community ranking, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility and risk, FAF or STC?

First American Financial has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stewart Information Services has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FAF or STC a better dividend stock?

First American Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Stewart Information Services pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. First American Financial pays out 242.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Stewart Information Services pays out 94.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First American Financial has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. First American Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to FAF or STC?

In the previous week, First American Financial had 8 more articles in the media than Stewart Information Services. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for First American Financial and 2 mentions for Stewart Information Services. Stewart Information Services' average media sentiment score of 1.47 beat First American Financial's score of 0.93 indicating that Stewart Information Services is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First American Financial	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Stewart Information Services	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better valuation & earnings, FAF or STC?

First American Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Stewart Information Services. Stewart Information Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First American Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First American Financial	$6.00B	1.06	$216.80M	$0.89	69.63
Stewart Information Services	$2.26B	0.80	$30.44M	$2.12	30.73

Is FAF or STC more profitable?

Stewart Information Services has a net margin of 2.47% compared to First American Financial's net margin of 1.58%. First American Financial's return on equity of 7.95% beat Stewart Information Services' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First American Financial	1.58%	7.95%	2.47%
Stewart Information Services	2.47%	5.77%	2.97%

Do analysts recommend FAF or STC?

First American Financial presently has a consensus price target of $73.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.80%. Stewart Information Services has a consensus price target of $77.67, suggesting a potential upside of 19.23%. Given Stewart Information Services' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Stewart Information Services is more favorable than First American Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First American Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Stewart Information Services	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Do insiders and institutionals believe in FAF or STC?

89.1% of First American Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of First American Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor FAF or STC?

First American Financial received 85 more outperform votes than Stewart Information Services when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 60.52% of users gave First American Financial an outperform vote while only 52.39% of users gave Stewart Information Services an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First American Financial	Outperform Votes 282 60.52%	Underperform Votes 184 39.48%
Stewart Information Services	Outperform Votes 197 52.39%	Underperform Votes 179 47.61%

Summary

First American Financial beats Stewart Information Services on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.