Short Interest in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Decreases By 26.1%

Loews Co. (NYSE:L) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,670,000 shares, a drop of 26.1% from the March 15th total of 2,260,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 804,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Loews Price Performance

L stock opened at $85.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Loews has a 52-week low of $73.15 and a 52-week high of $92.42.

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

Loews Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Loews news, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.08, for a total transaction of $4,254,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,105,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $604,538,407.32. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan M. Tisch sold 3,691 shares of Loews stock in a transaction that occurred 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 ninety days, insiders sold 151,327 shares of company stock valued at $12,851,055. 18.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Loews

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Loews during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Loews by 387.6% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Loews during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Loews by 80.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 58.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.