Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) Short Interest Up 25.7% in March

Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,520,000 shares, an increase of 25.7% from the March 15th total of 2,800,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ORI shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Old Republic International from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com lowered Old Republic International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Old Republic International news, VP Thomas Dare sold 27,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total transaction of $1,002,180.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 46,556 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,294. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jeffrey Lange sold 1,098 shares of Old Republic International stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $40,142.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 34,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,864.24. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,039 shares of company stock worth $1,580,733 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Republic International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Old Republic International by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 18,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,715 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 23,485 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, Berry Wealth Group LP boosted its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 6,251 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.92% of the company’s stock.

Old Republic International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ORI traded down $1.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $36.31. The stock had a trading volume of 411,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,573. The firm has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.68. Old Republic International has a fifty-two week low of $28.65 and a fifty-two week high of $39.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.39 and a 200-day moving average of $36.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.19. Old Republic International had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 20.32%. Equities research analysts predict that Old Republic International will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. This is a positive change from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Old Republic International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.11%.

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.