Loews (L) Competitors

Loews (NYSE:L) and Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability and earnings.

Does the media refer more to L or CINF?

In the previous week, Cincinnati Financial had 5 more articles in the media than Loews. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Cincinnati Financial and 7 mentions for Loews. Loews' average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat Cincinnati Financial's score of 1.22 indicating that Loews is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Loews	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cincinnati Financial	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate L or CINF?

Loews presently has a consensus target price of $112.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.01%. Cincinnati Financial has a consensus target price of $155.25, indicating a potential upside of 3.78%. Given Loews' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Loews is more favorable than Cincinnati Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loews	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Cincinnati Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, L or CINF?

Cincinnati Financial has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Loews. Loews is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cincinnati Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Loews	$17.51B	1.10	$1.41B	$6.09	15.07
Cincinnati Financial	$11.34B	2.06	$2.29B	$9.17	16.31

Do institutionals and insiders believe in L or CINF?

58.3% of Loews shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.2% of Cincinnati Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 19.0% of Loews shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Cincinnati Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is L or CINF more profitable?

Cincinnati Financial has a net margin of 13.19% compared to Loews' net margin of 7.47%. Loews' return on equity of 7.43% beat Cincinnati Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loews	7.47%	7.43%	1.61%
Cincinnati Financial	13.19%	6.55%	2.44%

Which has more risk & volatility, L or CINF?

Loews has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cincinnati Financial has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is L or CINF a better dividend stock?

Loews pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Cincinnati Financial pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Loews pays out 4.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cincinnati Financial pays out 37.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Cincinnati Financial has increased its dividend for 65 consecutive years. Cincinnati Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Cincinnati Financial beats Loews on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.