Loews (NYSE:L) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Loews Co. (NYSE:L)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $92.13 and last traded at $91.51, with a volume of 567650 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $91.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Loews Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $19.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $86.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.63.

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

Loews Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 47,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.88, for a total value of $4,043,343.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,705,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $569,165,301.52. This represents a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of Loews stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.89, for a total transaction of $320,710.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 158,860 shares of company stock worth $13,486,463. Company insiders own 18.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Loews

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Loews during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in Loews by 387.6% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Loews in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Loews during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors 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.