Earnings per share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Earnings per share

Earnings per share. The Company’s basic earnings per share attributable to Stewart was calculated by dividing net earnings attributable to Stewart by the weighted-average number of shares of Common Stock and Class B Common Stock outstanding during the reporting periods.

To calculate diluted earnings per share, net earnings and number of shares are adjusted for the effects of any dilutive shares. Using the if-converted method, net earnings is adjusted for interest expense, net of any tax effects, applicable to the Convertible Senior Notes. The number of shares is adjusted by adding the number of dilutive shares, assuming they are issued, during the same reporting period. The treasury stock method is used to calculate the dilutive number of shares related to the Company’s stock option plan.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, the Company had minimal dilutive shares under the treasury stock method mentioned above since the exercise prices of the options were greater than the weighted-average market value of the shares, which excludes them from the diluted earnings calculation.

The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is as follows:

	For the Three Months Ended   September 30,		For the Nine Months Ended   September 30,
	2014	2013	2014	2013
	($000 omitted)
Numerator:
Net earnings attributable to Stewart	23,717	15,409	17,890	45,514
Interest expense, net of tax effects	314	303	941	1,109
If-converted net earnings attributable to Stewart	24,031	15,712	18,831	46,623
Denominator (000):
Basic average shares outstanding	22,267	22,475	22,416	21,962
Dilutive average number of shares relating to options	1	1	1	—
Dilutive average number of shares relating to convertible senior notes	2,111	2,115	2,111	2,595
Dilutive average number of shares relating to restricted shares grant	284	178	284	178
Dilutive average shares outstanding	24,663	24,769	24,812	24,735
Basic earnings per share attributable to Stewart	1.07	0.69	0.80	2.07
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Stewart	0.97	0.63	0.76	1.88