13,411 Shares in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) Bought by XTX Topco Ltd

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd has made a significant investment of approximately $957,000 in Stewart Information Services, acquiring 13,411 shares in the first quarter.
• Stewart Information Services reported a 19.9% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, totaling $721.50 million, while earnings exceeded estimates at $1.34 per share.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 3.0%.

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $957,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in STC. Capital International Investors bought a new position in Stewart Information Services during the fourth quarter worth $15,890,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Stewart Information Services by 18.6% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 990,168 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $70,648,000 after acquiring an additional 155,210 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,034,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 381.3% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 67,255 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,799,000 after acquiring an additional 53,282 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 93.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,601 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,992,000 after acquiring an additional 50,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock traded up $1.64 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $67.24. 172,267 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,826. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 0.91. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 52 week low of $56.39 and a 52 week high of $78.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.56.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Stewart Information Services's payout ratio is presently 64.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stewart Information Services

In other news, Director C Allen Bradley, Jr. bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.63 per share, with a total value of $59,630.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,207,090.09. This represents a 5.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David C. Hisey sold 2,224 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Stewart Information Services 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.