Loews (NYSE:L) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Loews Co. (NYSE:L) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 457,994 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the previous session’s volume of 649,194 shares.The stock last traded at $88.19 and had previously closed at $86.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Loews Trading Down 1.2 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.83.

Loews (NYSE:L) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 9.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles M. Diker sold 1,146 shares of Loews stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 19,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,728,437.98. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of Loews stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.26, for a total value of $4,163,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,939,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $994,097,507.02. This trade represents a 0.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,370 shares of company stock worth $5,218,627 in the last quarter. 18.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Loews

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Loews during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Loews during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Loews during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors own 58.33% of the company’s stock.

Loews Company Profile

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.