Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,010,000 shares, a growth of 12.9% from the November 15th total of 1,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 522,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dirk J. Debbink acquired 1,000 shares of Cincinnati Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $157.19 per share, with a total value of $157,190.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 54,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,566,855. The trade was a 1.87 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cincinnati Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 14.0% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 378,717 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,726,000 after buying an additional 46,530 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Cincinnati Financial by 91.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 118,679 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $14,016,000 after purchasing an additional 56,686 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 42,132 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,976,000 after purchasing an additional 9,854 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 117,393 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,923,000 after purchasing an additional 11,282 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 6.2% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 143,127 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,059,000 after purchasing an additional 8,353 shares in the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cincinnati Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

CINF stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $152.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 818,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,459. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.83, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.69. Cincinnati Financial has a 1 year low of $100.31 and a 1 year high of $161.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.88.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cincinnati Financial will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

Cincinnati Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Cincinnati Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CINF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.33.

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.