Raymond James downgrades title company Old Republic as mortgage refinancing cools

Raymond James analyst C. Gregory Peters on Friday cut his rating on title insurance provider Old Republic International Corp. ORI, -3.39% to outperform from strong buy and trimmed his price target by $2 a share to $28. Peters cited near-term headwinds in the its title business, which comprises 48% of Old Republic’s revenue. The move comes after Old Republic on Thursday reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of 64 cents a share, short of the analyst estimate of 67 cents a share. Peters also reduced his 2022 profit target for Old Republic to $2.40 a share from $2.50 a share. Shares of Old Republic fell 1.6% in premarket trades. The stock is down 6.1% so far in 2022, compared to a 10% loss by the S&P 500 SPX, +2.47%.