Gabelli Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Old Republic International Corporation $ORI

Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 39,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,678,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ORI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Old Republic International by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,470,798 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,081,745,000 after purchasing an additional 123,954 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Old Republic International by 1.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,717,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $285,268,000 after purchasing an additional 116,549 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Old Republic International by 55.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,779,156 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $221,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066,965 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 2,840.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,926,606 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $166,763,000 after purchasing an additional 3,793,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 19.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,585,558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $152,279,000 after purchasing an additional 575,778 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Old Republic International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Old Republic International from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down from $51.00) on shares of Old Republic International in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Old Republic International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Republic International

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

Old Republic International Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of ORI opened at $40.03 on Thursday. Old Republic International Corporation has a one year low of $34.43 and a one year high of $46.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.73.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.15). Old Republic International had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 10.24%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Old Republic International Corporation will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Old Republic International’s payout ratio is presently 37.17%.

Old Republic International 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. 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.