Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $39.31 and last traded at $38.98, with a volume of 1521581 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Old Republic International Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $36.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.38.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 Co. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Old Republic International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Old Republic International news, CEO Craig R. Smiddy sold 5,296 shares of Old Republic International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.60, for a total value of $204,425.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,335,369.20. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas Dare sold 27,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total value of $1,002,180.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,699,294. This represents a 37.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,039 shares of company stock valued at $1,580,733 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Old Republic International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,581,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Old Republic International during the fourth quarter worth $67,054,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Old Republic International by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,349,942 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $85,044,000 after buying an additional 490,788 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,176,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $114,940,000 after buying an additional 400,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 93.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 823,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,802,000 after acquiring an additional 398,531 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.