Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Short Interest Update

Loews Co. (NYSE:L) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, an increase of 6.4% from the July 15th total of 1,710,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 719,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on L shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Loews to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Loews from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Transactions at Loews

In other news, Director Jonathan C. Locker acquired 6,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.63 per share, for a total transaction of $499,906.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 23,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,859,972.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Jonathan C. Locker acquired 6,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.63 per share, for a total transaction of $499,906.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 23,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,859,972.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Mark S. Schwartz sold 2,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.88, for a total transaction of $212,552.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,207,781.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Loews

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Loews by 4.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,425 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Loews by 0.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 295,823 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews in the second quarter worth about $1,088,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in shares of Loews by 12.0% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 552,240 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,511,000 after purchasing an additional 59,102 shares during the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Loews Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:L traded up $0.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $79.27. 130,546 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 724,225. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.96. Loews has a 12-month low of $61.29 and a 12-month high of $83.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Loews (NYSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Loews had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter.

Loews Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.71%.

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.