Stewart Information Services (STC) Competitors

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) and First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, community ranking, profitability, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Do analysts recommend STC or FAF?

Stewart Information Services currently has a consensus price target of $69.33, suggesting a potential upside of 11.02%. First American Financial has a consensus price target of $67.75, suggesting a potential upside of 24.95%. Given First American Financial's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First American Financial is more favorable than Stewart Information Services.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stewart Information Services	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
First American Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has better earnings & valuation, STC or FAF?

First American Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Stewart Information Services. First American Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stewart Information Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stewart Information Services	$2.26B	0.76	$30.44M	$1.52	41.09
First American Financial	$6.00B	0.94	$216.80M	$2.09	25.94

Does the media refer more to STC or FAF?

In the previous week, First American Financial had 8 more articles in the media than Stewart Information Services. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for First American Financial and 15 mentions for Stewart Information Services. Stewart Information Services' average media sentiment score of 0.45 beat First American Financial's score of -0.02 indicating that Stewart Information Services is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Stewart Information Services	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
First American Financial	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is STC or FAF more profitable?

First American Financial has a net margin of 3.64% compared to Stewart Information Services' net margin of 1.83%. First American Financial's return on equity of 8.18% beat Stewart Information Services' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stewart Information Services	1.83%	4.69%	2.39%
First American Financial	3.64%	8.18%	2.51%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in STC or FAF?

First American Financial received 85 more outperform votes than Stewart Information Services when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 60.57% of users gave First American Financial an outperform vote while only 52.34% of users gave Stewart Information Services an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Stewart Information Services	Outperform Votes 190 52.34%	Underperform Votes 173 47.66%
First American Financial	Outperform Votes 275 60.57%	Underperform Votes 179 39.43%

Which has more risk & volatility, STC or FAF?

Stewart Information Services has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First American Financial has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in STC or FAF?

96.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of First American Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Stewart Information Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of First American Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is STC or FAF a better dividend stock?

Stewart Information Services pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. First American Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Stewart Information Services pays out 125.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First American Financial pays out 101.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First American Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

First American Financial beats Stewart Information Services on 16 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.