Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $147.40.

CINF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Cincinnati Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Cincinnati Financial from $182.00 to $148.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

Cincinnati Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CINF traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $145.25. The stock had a trading volume of 519,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 660,885. Cincinnati Financial has a 12-month low of $111.92 and a 12-month high of $161.75. The firm has a market cap of $22.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $139.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.65.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The insurance provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $0.37. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 20.22% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cincinnati Financial will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd. Cincinnati Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cincinnati Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CINF. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,167,705 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,754,399,000 after purchasing an additional 173,417 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 224,033 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,930,022 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $563,323,000 after acquiring an additional 185,705 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Cincinnati Financial by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,672,210 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $240,297,000 after acquiring an additional 162,714 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,959,000. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.