Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Cincinnati Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CINF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $141.76 and last traded at $140.84, with a volume of 14946 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $138.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $149.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Cincinnati Financial from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cincinnati Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.29.

Cincinnati Financial Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $134.51 and its 200 day moving average is $124.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Cincinnati Financial Co. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Cincinnati Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 1.1% in the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,514,353 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $178,845,000 after acquiring an additional 16,451 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Cincinnati Financial by 16.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,349,462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $159,360,000 after purchasing an additional 187,934 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in Cincinnati Financial by 10.6% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,115,487 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $131,739,000 after purchasing an additional 107,081 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Cincinnati Financial by 39.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 981,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $115,758,000 after purchasing an additional 277,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Cincinnati Financial by 7.8% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 757,795 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $89,496,000 after purchasing an additional 55,033 shares in the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.