Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Old Republic International from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st.

Old Republic International Price Performance

ORI stock opened at $30.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.58 and a 200-day moving average of $28.90. Old Republic International has a 12-month low of $24.03 and a 12-month high of $31.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.81.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.03). Old Republic International had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 9.52%. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Old Republic International will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.265 dividend. This is a boost from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Old Republic International’s payout ratio is presently 41.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Barbara Adachi bought 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.60 per share, with a total value of $55,055.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,367. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 6,528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.71, for a total transaction of $180,890.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $979,271.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Barbara Adachi acquired 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.60 per share, with a total value of $55,055.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,845 shares in the company, valued at $224,367. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Old Republic International

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 1,069.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 994 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Old Republic International during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Old Republic International during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Old Republic International during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 526.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. 70.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.