Stewart upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BTIG

BTIG analyst Soham Bhonsle upgraded Stewart Information Services to Buy from Neutral with a $70 price target. With mortgage volumes beginning to trough, “we want to get ahead of a potential recovery in demand,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm sees Stewart’s margins up to 400 basis points higher in a recovery scenario and thinks operational changes made to the business over the past few years have lowered downside risk. The stock’s risk/reward “skews heavily positive,” with 130% upside potential in a bull case, 50% upside potential in a base case, and 25% downside potential in a bear base, contends BTIG.