Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) Short Interest Update

Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,110,000 shares, a growth of 9.9% from the September 15th total of 1,920,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 584,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of CINF traded up $3.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $141.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,007,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,011. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Cincinnati Financial has a 12-month low of $96.86 and a 12-month high of $141.83. The stock has a market cap of $22.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $134.51 and its 200 day moving average is $124.35.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.33. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Cincinnati Financial will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on CINF shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Cincinnati Financial from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Cincinnati Financial from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.29.

Institutional Trading of Cincinnati Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in Cincinnati Financial by 49.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 242 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 1.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,445 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 4.3% in the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,297 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 5.0% during the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 2,009 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

About Cincinnati Financial

Cincinnati Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property casualty insurance products in the United States. It operates through five segments: Commercial Lines Insurance, Personal Lines Insurance, Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance, Life Insurance, and Investments. The Commercial Lines Insurance segment offers coverage for commercial casualty, commercial property, commercial auto, and workers' compensation.