Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Short Interest Up 9.9% in January

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

Insider Activity

In other Loews news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.16, for a total value of $6,237,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,089,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,377,539.32. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles M. Diker sold 1,146 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,728,437.98. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,679 shares of company stock valued at $11,134,916 over the last ninety days. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Loews by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Loews by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Loews by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Loews by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Loews by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,111 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Loews Trading Down 0.2 %

L stock opened at $85.31 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Loews has a 52-week low of $71.52 and a 52-week high of $87.45. The firm has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.83.

Loews (NYSE:L) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter.

Loews Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.