Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) Rating Increased to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $135.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $125.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on CINF. TheStreet upgraded Cincinnati Financial from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Cincinnati Financial in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a neutral rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cincinnati Financial currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $116.71.

Cincinnati Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ CINF opened at $124.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.62. Cincinnati Financial has a 1-year low of $95.01 and a 1-year high of $124.35. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $113.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.84.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The insurance provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Cincinnati Financial had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 18.41%. Cincinnati Financial’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cincinnati Financial will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Cincinnati Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This is a positive change from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 18th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Cincinnati Financial by 252.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cincinnati Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 11,107.1% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 3,110 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cincinnati Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

About Cincinnati Financial

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.