Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) Sets New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $46.49 and last traded at $46.29, with a volume of 1248025 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.62.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Old Republic International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded Old Republic International from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $43.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Old Republic International from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Old Republic International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target of $46.50.

Old Republic International Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.44. The company has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 0.79.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Old Republic International had a return on equity of 17.11% and a net margin of 9.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Old Republic International Corporation will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Old Republic International news, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 6,680 shares of Old Republic International stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.54, for a total transaction of $297,527.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,295,000.50. The trade was a 18.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Therace Risch bought 1,000 shares of Old Republic International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.14 per share, with a total value of $39,140.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,625 shares in the company, valued at $415,862.50. This trade represents a 10.39% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Republic International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Old Republic International by 2,840.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,926,606 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $166,763,000 after acquiring an additional 3,793,085 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Old Republic International during the second quarter valued at approximately $115,071,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,066,965 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Old Republic International by 98.0% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,197,538 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $135,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,702,316 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $103,877,000 after purchasing an additional 821,975 shares in the last quarter. 70.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.