Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 18,913 Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services Corporation by 27.4%, acquiring an additional 18,913 shares during the first quarter, raising its total ownership to 88,002 shares valued at approximately $6.28 million.
• Analysts have recently upgraded the stock rating, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raising their price target from $72 to $73 while also maintaining a "market perform" rating.
• Stewart Information Services reported robust earnings, exceeding analysts' expectations with an EPS of $1.34 for the last quarter, up from $0.91 in the previous year, alongside a 19.9% year-over-year revenue increase.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,002 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,913 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.32% of Stewart Information Services worth $6,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the 1st quarter worth $12,698,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 6.9% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,025 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,143,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Stewart Information Services in the 1st quarter worth $957,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 125.1% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,559 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 6,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 36,481 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In related news, CFO David C. Hisey sold 2,224 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.39, for a total transaction of $143,203.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,757,736.01. The trade was a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director C Allen Bradley, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.63 per share, for a total transaction of $59,630.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 20,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,090.09. The trade was a 5.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE STC traded down $0.2050 during trading on Thursday, hitting $70.3550. 6,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 185,554. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.39 and a fifty-two week high of $78.44. The business's fifty day moving average is $64.75 and its 200 day moving average is $65.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68 and a beta of 0.91.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $721.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.90 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 3.29% and a return on equity of 7.71%. Stewart Information Services's quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

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.