Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) saw a large decrease in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,020,000 shares, a decrease of 12.9% from the July 15th total of 2,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 672,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Performance

CINF stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $131.32. The company had a trading volume of 216,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 773,988. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.34. The company has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Cincinnati Financial has a twelve month low of $96.86 and a twelve month high of $132.69.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.33. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Cincinnati Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cincinnati Financial will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cincinnati Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CINF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,062 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cincinnati Financial during the 4th quarter worth $257,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,415 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $983,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 32,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 5,713 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CINF. Citigroup upgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $126.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $151.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.57.

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.