Barbara Adachi, a director at Old Republic Insurance (ORI), recently bought 1,925 shares. The buy increased her stake by 33 percent, and came to a total cost of $55,055.
The director also bought shares last August, picking up 3,620 shares for just over $100,000. Other company directors have been buyers in the past year, albeit at smaller amounts. There have been two insider sales in the past year, the largest of which came from an EVP.
Overall, Old Republic insiders own 7.8 percent of shares.
The property and casualty insurance company is up 8 percent over the past year. Rising insurance costs have resulted in fewer policies, which is reflected in Old Republic’s 17 percent revenue slide and 63 percent earnings slide.
However, shares are reasonably priced at about 13 times earnings, and the insurer has a low level of debt.
Action to take: Investors may like shares here. Old Republic is in an overall uptrend, but pulled back in recent weeks. That’s also pushed the dividend yield on shares up to 3.4 percent. There’s likely more upside ahead for shares this year.
For traders, the July $30 calls, last trading for $0.90, could see mid-to-high double-digit returns in the coming months. Traders may want to take a quick profit following any day with a large move higher for shares.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.