Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Short Interest Update

Loews Co. (NYSE:L) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,780,000 shares, an increase of 9.9% from the December 15th total of 1,620,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 750,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Loews

In other Loews news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of Loews stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.26, for a total value of $4,163,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,939,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $994,097,507.02. The trade was a 0.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles M. Diker sold 1,146 shares of Loews stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.83, for a total transaction of $99,507.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,728,437.98. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,679 shares of company stock valued at $11,134,916 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 18.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Loews during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Loews in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Loews in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Loews in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Loews in the third quarter valued at about $129,000. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Loews Stock Performance

Shares of Loews stock traded up $0.19 on Monday, reaching $86.27. 553,974 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,034. Loews has a 1-year low of $70.59 and a 1-year high of $87.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $84.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.83.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Loews’s payout ratio is currently 3.32%.

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.