Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Takes $480,000 Position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,109 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in STC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 310.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 807.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,831 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on STC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of STC stock opened at $65.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.69. Stewart Information Services Co. has a 52 week low of $58.61 and a 52 week high of $78.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00 and a beta of 1.01.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $608.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $595.50 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 6.81%. Stewart Information Services's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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