Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $7.54 Million Position in Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has made a new investment of approximately $7.54 million in Cincinnati Financial Corporation by acquiring 51,036 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Cincinnati Financial reported earnings of $1.97 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.39, and had a revenue of $2.48 billion, which fell short of the $2.80 billion forecast.
• Equities analysts have given Cincinnati Financial a rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $159.20, following several upgrades on the stock in recent reports.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 51,036 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,539,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 77.6% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 174 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 65.4% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 258 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 333.3% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CINF shares. Roth Capital upped their price target on Cincinnati Financial from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cincinnati Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Cincinnati Financial from $167.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cincinnati Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $159.40.

Cincinnati Financial Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Cincinnati Financial stock traded up $3.47 on Wednesday, hitting $153.90. 391,359 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 701,546. Cincinnati Financial Corporation has a one year low of $123.01 and a one year high of $161.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $148.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.06. The company has a market capitalization of $24.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 0.70.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Cincinnati Financial had a return on equity of 7.14% and a net margin of 15.59%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cincinnati Financial Corporation will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Cincinnati Financial 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.