Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.29 Per Share

Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 28th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 0.29 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is a positive change from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27.

Old Republic International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.4% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 44 consecutive years. Old Republic International has a dividend payout ratio of 30.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Old Republic International to earn $3.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.8%.

Old Republic International Stock Performance

NYSE ORI traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.30. 55,481 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,065,889. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.88. Old Republic International has a 12-month low of $28.59 and a 12-month high of $39.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.06 and a 200 day moving average of $36.02.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last issued 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Old Republic International will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 9,188 shares of the business’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 transaction of $333,983.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,219,760.60. The trade was a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffrey Lange sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 34,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,864.24. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.