New South Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Stewart Information Services Corporation $STC

New South Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 87,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,368,000. New South Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Stewart Information Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the second quarter worth $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 423.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Stewart Information Services

In related news, CEO Frederick H. Eppinger acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.45 per share, for a total transaction of $133,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 173,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,719,853.75. The trade was a 1.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director C Allen Bradley, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $47.30 per share, for a total transaction of $94,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 27,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,278,708.20. This trade represents a 7.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 10,000 shares of company stock worth $460,960. 2.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on STC. Stephens lowered their target price on Stewart Information Services from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research lowered Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $77.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on Stewart Information Services in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.75.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STC opened at $44.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $54.53 and its 200-day moving average is $63.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 1.85. Stewart Information Services Corporation has a 52 week low of $42.66 and a 52 week high of $78.61.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $900.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $903.67 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 9.39% and a net margin of 3.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Corporation will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5250. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.14%.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

Stewart Information Services Corporation is a Houston-based provider of title insurance and real estate transaction services. Its business includes issuing title insurance policies and supporting property transfers through services such as title searches, escrow, closing and settlement. The company serves homebuyers, sellers, real estate professionals, mortgage lenders and other participants in property transactions. It also provides related services, including property information and services supporting mortgage lending and real estate operations.