Loews (NYSE:L) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $88.29 and last traded at $85.89, with a volume of 1111551 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Loews from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th.

Loews Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.68 and its 200 day moving average is $81.84.

Loews (NYSE:L) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 9.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 7,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.35, for a total value of $635,408.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,568,191 shares in the company, valued at $132,276,910.85. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total value of $320,710.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,370 shares of company stock valued at $5,218,627. Corporate insiders own 18.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Loews

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in Loews by 9.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Loews by 34.6% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,317 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Loews by 91.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,089 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,485,000 after buying an additional 21,037 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Loews by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 22,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Loews by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 379,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,011,000 after acquiring an additional 30,600 shares in the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.