Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) Stock Rating Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $135.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $125.00.

CINF has been the subject of several other research reports. TheStreet raised shares of Cincinnati Financial from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Cincinnati Financial in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a neutral rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $116.71.

Cincinnati Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ CINF opened at $123.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.72. Cincinnati Financial has a 1 year low of $95.01 and a 1 year high of $123.36.

Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The insurance provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Cincinnati Financial had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Cincinnati Financial will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 18th. This is a boost from Cincinnati Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Cincinnati Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 27.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cincinnati Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CINF. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Cincinnati Financial by 252.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cincinnati Financial by 11,107.1% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,110 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cincinnati Financial in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cincinnati Financial Company Profile

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.