Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Loews (NYSE:L) Price Target to $112.00

Loews (NYSE:L) had its target price lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $115.00 to $112.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Loews to a moderate buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Loews Stock Down 0.6 %

L opened at $78.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Loews has a one year low of $61.29 and a one year high of $83.54. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.61.

Loews (NYSE:L) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 9.26%.

Loews Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Loews news, VP Mark S. Schwartz sold 2,628 shares of Loews stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.88, for a total value of $212,552.64. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,781.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Mark S. Schwartz sold 2,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.88, for a total value of $212,552.64. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,781.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan C. Locker purchased 6,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $80.63 per share, with a total value of $499,906.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,859,972.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,628 shares of company stock worth $11,801,053 over the last three months. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter worth about $511,159,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Loews by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,156,933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,656,376,000 after acquiring an additional 507,513 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Loews in the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,646,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Loews by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,503,105 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $174,191,000 after acquiring an additional 266,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Loews by 77.9% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 525,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,307,000 after acquiring an additional 230,231 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Loews Company Profile

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.