Insider Buying: Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) Director Acquires $48,918.50 in Stock

Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI) Director John Eric Smith purchased 1,135 shares of Old Republic International stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.10 per share, for a total transaction of $48,918.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,295.60. The trade was a 36.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Old Republic International Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:ORI opened at $41.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.73. Old Republic International Corporation has a one year low of $34.43 and a one year high of $46.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.26.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.15). Old Republic International had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 16.21%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Old Republic International Corporation will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This is a positive change from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Old Republic International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.22%.

Institutional Trading of Old Republic International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Old Republic International by 230.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,852,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $540,943,000 after buying an additional 8,266,829 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Old Republic International by 2,840.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,926,606 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $166,763,000 after buying an additional 3,793,085 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Old Republic International in the fourth quarter valued at $155,960,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Old Republic International in the second quarter valued at $115,071,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 55.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,779,156 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $221,457,000 after acquiring an additional 2,066,965 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ORI shares. Zacks Research cut Old Republic International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Old Republic International from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down from $51.00) on shares of Old Republic International in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

About Old Republic International

Old Republic International Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the insurance underwriting and related services business primarily in the United States and Canada. It operates through three segments: General Insurance, Title Insurance, and Republic Financial Indemnity Group Run-off Business. The General Insurance segment offers aviation, commercial auto, commercial multi-peril, commercial property, general liability, home and auto warranty, inland marine, travel accident, and workers' compensation insurance products; and financial indemnity products for specialty coverages, including errors and omissions, fidelity, directors and officers, and surety.