Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Separately, TheStreet raised Investors Title from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st.

Investors Title Stock Performance

ITIC stock traded up $3.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $154.19. 6,056 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,854. Investors Title has a 12 month low of $127.71 and a 12 month high of $171.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.40. The company has a market capitalization of $289.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.87.

Investors Title (NASDAQ:ITIC) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The insurance provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter. Investors Title had a return on equity of 9.96% and a net margin of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $53.46 million during the quarter.

Investors Title Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Investors Title’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Investors Title

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ITIC. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Investors Title in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,648,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Investors Title by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Investors Title by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,055,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Investors Title by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Investors Title by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 637 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 41.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Investors Title Company Profile

Investors Title Company engages in the issuance of residential and commercial title insurance for residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial properties. The company underwrites land title insurance for owners and mortgagees as a primary insurer; and assumes the reinsurance of title insurance risks from other title insurance companies.