Oak Thistle LLC Acquires Shares of 27,691 Old Republic International Corporation $ORI

Key Points

• Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake of 27,691 shares in Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) during Q4, valued at about $1.26 million.
• Several large institutions notably increased positions—Thrivent to 3.93M shares, AQR to 5.78M, Captrust to 3.20M and BNYM to 3.59M—leaving institutional ownership at 70.92%.
• Old Republic missed quarterly EPS ($0.74 vs. $0.89), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.315 (a 3.0% yield), and carries a Wall Street consensus of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $42.50.

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,264,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ORI. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Old Republic International by 2,840.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,926,606 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $166,763,000 after acquiring an additional 3,793,085 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Old Republic International by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,779,156 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $221,457,000 after acquiring an additional 2,066,965 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Old Republic International by 98.0% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,197,538 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $135,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,895 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Old Republic International during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,289,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Old Republic International by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,585,558 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $152,279,000 after purchasing an additional 575,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ORI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Old Republic International from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 target price (down from $51.00) on shares of Old Republic International in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Old Republic International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.50.

Old Republic International Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE ORI opened at $41.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.26. The firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.72. Old Republic International Corporation has a twelve month low of $35.60 and a twelve month high of $46.76.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.15). Old Republic International had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 16.21%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts expect that Old Republic International Corporation will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This is a positive change from Old Republic International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Old Republic International's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Republic International

In other news, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 5,526 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.28, for a total value of $217,061.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,094,930. The trade was a 16.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Eric Smith purchased 1,135 shares of Old Republic International stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.10 per share, with a total value of $48,918.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,295.60. This represents a 36.13% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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. The General Insurance segment offers aviation, commercial auto, commercial multi-peril, commercial property, general liability, home and auto warranty, inland marine, travel accident, and workers' compensation insurance products; and financial indemnity products for specialty coverages, including errors and omissions, fidelity, directors and officers, and surety.

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