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

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

Insider Activity at Old Republic International

In other Old Republic International news, SVP Jeffrey Lange sold 1,098 shares of the 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 directly owns 34,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,864.24. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 9,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total value of $333,983.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,219,760.60. This represents a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,039 shares of company stock worth $1,580,733 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Old Republic International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HFG Advisors Inc. increased its position in Old Republic International by 7.8% during the first quarter. HFG Advisors Inc. now owns 8,844 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Old Republic International by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 194,922 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,644,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Old Republic International during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Old Republic International in the 1st quarter worth about $254,000. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 8,068 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ORI shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Old Republic International from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Old Republic International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Old Republic International Price Performance

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

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.19. Old Republic International had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 20.32%. As a group, research analysts predict that Old Republic International will post 3.17 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Old Republic International’s payout ratio is 44.11%.

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.