Squarepoint Ops LLC Invests $931,000 in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 13,800 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $931,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 310.9% during 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% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 84.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,461 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C Allen Bradley, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.63 per share, with a total value of $59,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,243 shares in the company, valued at $1,207,090.09. This trade represents a 5.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

STC traded up $0.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $60.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 218,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 171,671. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Stewart Information Services Co. has a twelve month low of $58.61 and a twelve month high of $78.44. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $64.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32 and a beta of 0.98.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $595.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Stewart Information Services's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Stewart Information Services's payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

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.