Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC Shares Bought by Keeley Teton Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Keeley Teton Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services Corporation by 14.7%, owning approximately 41,235 shares valued at $2.94 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• A recent report by Wall Street Zen upgraded Stewart Information Services to a "buy" rating, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.50.
• Stewart Information Services reported earnings of $1.34 per share, exceeding analyst expectations and reflecting a 19.9% year-over-year revenue increase of $721.50 million.

Keeley Teton Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 14.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,235 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 5,280 shares during the quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of Stewart Information Services worth $2,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 24.8% in the first quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 66,193 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 13,166 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the first quarter valued at about $581,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.4% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 147,080 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 102.7% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 4,894 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 89.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 114,291 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,155,000 after purchasing an additional 53,860 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Stewart Information Services Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of STC traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.93. 125,653 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 148,163. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45 and a beta of 0.91. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.39 and a fifty-two week high of $78.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.91. The stock's 50-day moving average is $66.22 and its 200-day moving average is $66.26.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $721.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $671.90 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 3.29% and a return on equity of 7.71%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.31%.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In related news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 2,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.39, for a total value of $143,203.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,757,736.01. This trade represents a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brad Rable sold 5,694 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total transaction of $371,932.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 23,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,559,319.04. This trade represents a 19.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Stewart Information Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.50.

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.