Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation STC gained 1.6% in the last trading session as its top and bottom line increased year over year in the fourth quarter of 2020.Operating income per share of $2.09 increased 140.2% year over year.Fourth-quarter results reflect revenue growth across all lines of business and effective cost management. Residential real estate market remained solid driven by strong purchase and refinance demand as the 30-year mortgage rate remained below 3% in the quarter. Commercial saw strong customer activity by year-end.Stewart Information Services Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Stewart Information Services Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Stewart Information Services Corporation QuoteBehind the HeadlinesOperating revenues of $737 million increased 44.5% year over year on the back of higher revenues from direct operations, agency operations and ancillary services.Net investment income, however, decreased 21% to $4.1 million.Total expense of $652.9 million increased about 29% year over year due to amounts retained by agencies, employee costs, other operating expenses and title losses and related claims.Opened orders totaled 152.6 million, up 63.7% year over year. Closed orders totaled 126 million, up 64.1% year over yearSegment Results Title: Operating revenues increased 36% year over year to $690.2 million. The upside was driven by increases in direct title revenues and gross independent agency revenues.Pretax margin of 13.6% expanded 960 bps year over year.Ancillary Services and Corporate: Operating revenues increased more than six fold year over year to $38 million, driven by acquisitions, partially offset by lower revenues from capital markets search and home equity valuation services operations.Pretax loss narrowed to $11 million from $16.5 million incurred in the year-ago quarter.Financial UpdateStewart Information exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $432.7 million, up 30.9% from 2019 end. Notes and contracts payable were $101.8 million, down 8%.Stockholders’ equity was $1 billion, up 34.5% from 2019 end.Cash flow from operations was $275.8 million in 2020, up 65.8% year over year.Zacks RankStewart Information currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Performance of Other InsurersOf the insurance industry players that have reported fourth-quarter results so far, The Travelers Companies TRV, W.R. Berkley Corporation WRB and Progressive Corporation PGR beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings.The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of AllLast year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV): Free Stock Analysis Report W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB): Free Stock Analysis Report The Progressive Corporation (PGR): Free Stock Analysis Report Stewart Information Services Corporation (STC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research