Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $182.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cincinnati Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.40.

Cincinnati Financial Price Performance

CINF traded down $3.80 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $130.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 670,817. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.53. Cincinnati Financial has a twelve month low of $109.93 and a twelve month high of $161.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts forecast that Cincinnati Financial will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $223,959,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 15,698.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 816,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $120,540,000 after acquiring an additional 810,840 shares during the period. Topsail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cincinnati Financial during the 4th quarter worth $47,114,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Cincinnati Financial by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 627,458 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $90,166,000 after purchasing an additional 241,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,006,254 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $863,099,000 after buying an additional 224,033 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.