Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC Increases Holdings in Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

Key Points

• Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 24.8%, owning 66,193 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Stewart Information Services has transitioned to a "buy" rating from Wall Street Zen, with a consensus target price of $77.50, following an upgrade in analyst ratings.
• The company reported $1.34 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a 19.9% revenue increase year-over-year, and also announced a quarterly dividend yielding 2.7%.

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its holdings in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) by 24.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,193 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,166 shares during the period. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Stewart Information Services worth $4,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 84.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,461 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,982 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Montchanin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on STC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Stewart Information Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.50.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 125,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,163. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 12-month low of $56.39 and a 12-month 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.26. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.45 and a beta of 0.91.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 7.71% and a net margin of 3.29%.The firm had revenue of $721.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $671.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Stewart Information Services's 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.