Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $135.62, but opened at $141.51. Cincinnati Financial shares last traded at $141.53, with a volume of 106,702 shares trading hands.

The insurance provider reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $1.24. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 8.25%.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This is an increase from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Cincinnati Financial’s payout ratio is 16.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CINF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cincinnati Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dirk J. Debbink acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $157.19 per share, with a total value of $157,190.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 54,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,566,855. This represents a 1.87 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cincinnati Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CINF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cincinnati Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $223,959,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 26.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,782,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $787,076,000 after buying an additional 1,218,919 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 583.2% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 385,918 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $52,531,000 after buying an additional 329,435 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,930,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,323,000 after buying an additional 185,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,167,705 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,754,399,000 after buying an additional 173,417 shares during the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Down 4.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a PE ratio of 6.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $142.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.47.

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.