Old Republic International Co. (ORI) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.29 on March 20th

Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 28th, RTT News reports. Shareholders 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 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a 9.4% increase 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% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 44 consecutive years. Old Republic International has a payout ratio of 33.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.8%.

Old Republic International Stock Performance

NYSE:ORI opened at $37.28 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.17. The company has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.83. 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 has a 52 week low of $28.59 and a 52 week high of $39.27.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 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, equities analysts anticipate that Old Republic International will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Old Republic International news, CEO Craig R. Smiddy sold 5,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.60, for a total value of $204,425.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,222 shares in the company, valued at $5,335,369.20. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 9,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total transaction of $333,983.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,219,760.60. This represents a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $578,552. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Old Republic International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

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.