Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) Raised to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $135.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $126.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Cincinnati Financial from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their target price for the company from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Piper Sandler restated a neutral rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Cincinnati Financial from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cincinnati Financial presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $127.80.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

CINF stock opened at $118.10 on Friday. Cincinnati Financial has a 52 week low of $95.40 and a 52 week high of $124.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.92. The company has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.65.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.03. Cincinnati Financial had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 22.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cincinnati Financial will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cincinnati Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dirk J. Debbink acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $113.47 per share, with a total value of $113,470.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 53,988 shares in the company, valued at $6,126,018.36. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cincinnati Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 25,518 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,134,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel raised its position in Cincinnati Financial by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 13,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 178.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 20,322 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,523,000 after purchasing an additional 13,026 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $953,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 6,747.9% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,148 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 12,956 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cincinnati Financial

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.