Loews (NYSE:L) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Loews Co. (NYSE:L) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $88.62 and last traded at $88.34, with a volume of 149672 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $87.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Loews from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Loews Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.80.

Loews (NYSE:L) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 8.04%.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.91%.

Insider Transactions at Loews

In other news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 7,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.35, for a total transaction of $635,408.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,568,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,276,910.85. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total transaction of $4,254,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,105,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $604,538,407.32. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 158,860 shares of company stock valued at $13,486,463. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Loews

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in L. State Street Corp increased its stake in Loews by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,077,241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $638,506,000 after purchasing an additional 82,581 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Loews in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $623,493,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Loews by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,476,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $378,087,000 after purchasing an additional 210,594 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Loews by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,462,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $377,920,000 after purchasing an additional 33,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Loews by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,191,888 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $268,640,000 after purchasing an additional 8,750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

About Loews

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.