Stewart & Co saw shares rise 18 percent on Friday.

At the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the shares were trading at $24.50, up $4.50 from their IPO price of $20.

Stewart had expected shares to price in the range of $20-$23 and had sold 11 million shares at the IPO.

For the year ended Dec 31, 1999 the company posted net income of $94.8 million on revenues of $193.3 million.

It also recorded a net income of $72.6 million on revenues of $152 million in 1998.

Stewart's shares are trading under the sympol "WPL'' on the New York Stock Exchange.