Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 33,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,229,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Old Republic International by 51.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,914 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,665,000 after buying an additional 92,591 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Old Republic International by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 21,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Old Republic International by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,450 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Old Republic International by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,860 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 2,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Old Republic International by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,228 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 2,627 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Old Republic International

In related news, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 10,601 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.38, for a total value of $396,265.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,336,521.90. This represents a 22.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas Dare sold 27,457 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,699,294. This represents a 37.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Old Republic International Stock Performance

NYSE:ORI traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $38.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,189,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,204,793. Old Republic International Co. has a 1-year low of $29.51 and a 1-year high of $39.84. The firm has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.74. The business's 50 day moving average price is $37.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Old Republic International had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Old Republic International Co. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Old Republic International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Old Republic International's payout ratio is 47.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James set a $42.00 target price on Old Republic International and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Old Republic International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $42.00 price target on Old Republic International in a report on Friday, April 25th.

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.