Michael Kennedy, a director at Old Republic International (ORI), recently bought 1,830 shares. The buy increased his stake by over 37 percent, and came to a total price just over $45,000.
This follows on a buy from another director of 250 shares last month. Company directors have been regular buyers of small amounts of shares this year, although that has been outnumbered by a number of other directors and executives who have been sellers.
Overall, company insiders own 7.3 percent of the company.
The traditional insurance company has performed about in-line with the S&P 500 over the past year, and remains hugely profitable, last trading for about 5 times earnings, even with flat revenue over the past year.
Action to take: The company is financially strong, and the insurance business tends to be steady no matter what the economy is doing, making for a decent investment. Investors can also pick up a slightly-growing 3.6 percent dividend yield here.
For traders, shares have been somewhat rangebound over the past few months, but are near the lower end of their trading range. A trade like the April $28.50 calls, last going for about $0.35, could yield triple-digit returns on a move higher in shares. Traders would want to take quick profits on any move higher, given that shares have been stuck in a range and will likely remain so.
Disclosure: The author of this article has a position in the company mentioned here, but does not intend to further trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.