Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

ORI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Old Republic International from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Old Republic International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Old Republic International in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Old Republic International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ORI opened at $40.01 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Old Republic International has a 1 year low of $35.60 and a 1 year high of $46.76.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Old Republic International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Old Republic International will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 5,526 shares of Old Republic International stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.28, for a total transaction of $217,061.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,930. The trade was a 16.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Eric Smith purchased 1,135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.10 per share, for a total transaction of $48,918.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,295.60. This trade represents a 36.13% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Republic International

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,470,798 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,081,745,000 after purchasing an additional 123,954 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Old Republic International by 230.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,852,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $540,943,000 after buying an additional 8,266,829 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Old Republic International by 30.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,553,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $319,155,000 after buying an additional 1,774,807 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Old Republic International by 1.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,717,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $285,268,000 after buying an additional 116,549 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Old Republic International by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,181,149 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $190,870,000 after buying an additional 72,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.92% of the company’s stock.

Old Republic International Company Profile

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.