Short Interest in Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) Expands By 9.9%

Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) was the recipient 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 584,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Performance

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

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Cincinnati Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cincinnati Financial will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Cincinnati Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cincinnati Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC acquired a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Cincinnati Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Cincinnati Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake 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. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Cincinnati Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CINF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Cincinnati Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $126.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.29.

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.