Why Stewart Information Services Shares Soared

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of title and real estate insurer Stewart Information Services (NYS: STC) soared as much as 13% following the release of its third-quarter earnings results.

So what: To say that Stewart Information Services surpassed Wall Street's EPS estimates would be doing it a great disservice. Stewart actually crushed them into oblivion! For the quarter, revenue popped 24% to $520.7 million while EPS came in at a healthy $1.45. Wall Street, on the other hand, was only looking for a profit of $0.56 on revenue of $441.9 million. Management attributed these incredibly strong results to improved operating ratios due to increased remittance rates and reducing title claims.

Now what: It's a little difficult trying to get excited about a title insurer whose share price has more than doubled over the previous year. However, these results will definitely get some investors excited, including me. Even after today's rally, Stewart is still trading below its book value and could have room to run higher assuming this quarter wasn't an aberration from the norm.

Craving more input? Start by adding Stewart Information Services to your free and personalized watchlist so you can keep up on the latest news with the company.

The article Why Stewart Information Services Shares Soared originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Stewart Information Services. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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