Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) Short Interest Down 5.0% in January

Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,070,000 shares, a drop of 5.0% from the January 15th total of 2,180,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 642,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Cincinnati Financial Price Performance

CINF stock traded down $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.14. The stock had a trading volume of 468,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 748,076. The company's 50 day moving average price is $140.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.64. Cincinnati Financial has a 1-year low of $109.93 and a 1-year high of $161.74. The stock has a market cap of $21.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $1.24. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 9.01%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cincinnati Financial will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This is an increase from Cincinnati Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Cincinnati Financial's payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cincinnati Financial

In other Cincinnati Financial news, Director Dirk J. Debbink bought 1,000 shares of Cincinnati Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $157.19 per share, with a total value of $157,190.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 54,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,566,855. The trade was a 1.87 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $174,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 167.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 143,869 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,583,000 after buying an additional 90,021 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 16,314 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,221,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 61,228 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,334,000 after buying an additional 10,208 shares during the period. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CINF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Cincinnati Financial from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.00.

Cincinnati Financial Company Profile

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.