Short Interest in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Declines By 6.2%

Loews Co. (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,810,000 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the April 15th total of 1,930,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 754,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of L stock traded up $0.54 on Friday, hitting $77.74. 855,154 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 745,748. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Loews has a one year low of $55.94 and a one year high of $78.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50 day moving average is $76.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.54.

Loews (NYSE:L - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 9.45%.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 29th. Loews's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total transaction of $3,857,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 457,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,314,614.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Loews news, insider Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $3,857,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 457,799 shares in the company, valued at $35,314,614.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul J. Fribourg sold 951 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.02, for a total transaction of $71,344.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,590,424. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 150,951 shares of company stock worth $11,659,844 in the last quarter. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Loews during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Loews in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Loews during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Loews in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Loews by 225.2% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 491 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.33% of the company's stock.

About Loews

Loews Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance in the United States and internationally. The company offers specialty insurance products, such as management and professional liability, and other coverage products; surety and fidelity bonds; property insurance products that include standard and excess property, marine and boiler, and machinery coverages; and casualty insurance products, such as workers' compensation, general and product liability, and commercial auto, surplus, and umbrella coverages.

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