Loews (NYSE:L) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 457,994 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 29% from the previous session's volume of 649,194 shares.The stock last traded at $88.19 and had previously closed at $86.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Loews from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Loews Trading Down 1.2 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Loews (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 9.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles M. Diker sold 1,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.83, for a total transaction of $99,507.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,728,437.98. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total value of $320,710.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,370 shares of company stock valued at $5,218,627. Corporate insiders own 18.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Loews

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of L. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Loews by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,022 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Loews by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,317 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Loews by 91.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,089 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,485,000 after buying an additional 21,037 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Loews by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 22,102 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,747,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Loews by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 379,647 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,011,000 after buying an additional 30,600 shares during the period. 58.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Loews

Loews Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance in the United States and internationally. The company offers specialty insurance products, such as management and professional liability, and other coverage products; surety and fidelity bonds; property insurance products that include standard and excess property, marine and boiler, and machinery coverages; and casualty insurance products, such as workers' compensation, general and product liability, and commercial auto, surplus, and umbrella coverages.