Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) Announces Dividend Increase - $0.53 Per Share

Key Points

• Stewart Information Services Corporation will increase its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share, marking a 5% increase from the previous dividend of $0.50.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed a net revenue increase of 19.9% year-over-year, with earnings per share of $1.34, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Stewart Information Services has a strong payout ratio of 31.1%, indicating that the dividend is well-covered by its earnings.

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 2nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of 0.525 per share by the insurance provider on Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This is a 5.0% increase from Stewart Information Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Stewart Information Services has a payout ratio of 31.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:STC traded up $1.29 during trading on Monday, hitting $74.84. 78,626 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 183,659. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.39. Stewart Information Services has a 52-week low of $56.39 and a 52-week high of $78.44.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.04. The firm 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stewart Information Services will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stewart Information Services

In related news, insider Brad Rable sold 5,694 shares of Stewart Information Services 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,559,319.04. This trade represents a 19.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO David C. Hisey sold 2,224 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,757,736.01. This represents a 3.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stewart Information Services

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,715,422 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $113,286,000 after buying an additional 33,413 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Stewart Information Services by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 996,558 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $71,104,000 after acquiring an additional 47,384 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 990,168 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $70,648,000 after buying an additional 155,210 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 657,573 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,813,000 after purchasing an additional 10,236 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in Stewart Information Services by 1.2% during the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 517,454 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,764,000 after buying an additional 5,921 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company's stock.

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.