Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) Stock Price

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Cincinnati Financial’s price target from $190 to $171 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying roughly 4.66% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views remain mixed, with Cincinnati Financial holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $191.60; targets from other firms range from $193 to $200.
• The stock opened at $163.39 after the insurer reported quarterly EPS of $1.43, missing the $1.82 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $4.27 billion versus expectations of $2.71 billion.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $190.00 to $171.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target suggests a potential upside of 4.66% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Roth Capital boosted their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Atlantic Securities set a $197.00 price target on Cincinnati Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America downgraded Cincinnati Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $197.00 to $193.00 in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cincinnati Financial from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $175.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cincinnati Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.60.

Cincinnati Financial Price Performance

Shares of Cincinnati Financial stock opened at $163.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's 50-day moving average is $169.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.31. Cincinnati Financial has a 1 year low of $150.00 and a 1 year high of $194.81.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.39). Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The business had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Cincinnati Financial will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cincinnati Financial news, Director Dirk Debbink acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $171.64 per share, for a total transaction of $171,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 62,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,651,806.76. The trade was a 1.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.94% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cincinnati Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 225.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,974,052 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,993,976,000 after acquiring an additional 18,686,673 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Cincinnati Financial by 1,474.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,242,991 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $415,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100,563 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial in the second quarter valued at about $347,891,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 59.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,104,457 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $331,136,000 after acquiring an additional 784,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 3.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,514,733 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $238,338,000 after purchasing an additional 44,608 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 is an insurance holding company headquartered in Fairfield, Ohio. Through its subsidiaries, the company markets property and casualty insurance products primarily through a network of independent insurance agents.

Its offerings include commercial and personal property and casualty coverage, such as businessowners' policies, commercial auto, workers' compensation, homeowners and automobile insurance. The company also provides life insurance and related financial products through Cincinnati Life Insurance Company.

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