Piper Sandler Issues Positive Forecast for Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) Stock Price

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) had its target price lifted by Piper Sandler from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Old Republic International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Old Republic International Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ORI stock opened at $39.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.83. Old Republic International has a 1 year low of $28.59 and a 1 year high of $39.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.55.

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

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. This is a boost from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Old Republic International’s payout ratio is 44.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jeffrey Lange sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Craig R. Smiddy sold 5,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.60, for a total transaction of $204,425.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,222 shares in the company, valued at $5,335,369.20. This represents a 3.69 % 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 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Old Republic International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 11.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,052 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Old Republic International by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 63,083 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,232,000 after acquiring an additional 16,744 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Old Republic International by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 40,403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 23,471 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Old Republic International by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Old Republic International during the third quarter worth $378,000. 70.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.