Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Makes New $403,000 Investment in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,973 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of STC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 310.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 807.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,831 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

STC traded down $1.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.58. 142,792 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 167,960. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Stewart Information Services Co. has a twelve month low of $58.61 and a twelve month high of $78.44. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84 and a beta of 1.01.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. The business had revenue of $608.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $595.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services's payout ratio is 76.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Stewart Information Services Company 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.