Short Interest in Loews Co. (NYSE:L) Expands By 10.6%

Loews Co. (NYSE:L) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,880,000 shares, a growth of 10.6% from the March 15th total of 1,700,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 769,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Insider Activity at Loews

In related news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.04, for a total value of $9,130,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 945,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,087,513.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Loews news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.04, for a total transaction of $9,130,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 945,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,087,513.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan M. Tisch sold 4,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.91, for a total value of $308,278.17. Following the sale, the insider now owns 106,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,685,021.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,563 shares of company stock worth $10,052,551. 18.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in L. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Loews in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Loews in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Loews in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Loews in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Loews in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 58.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Loews Price Performance

Shares of NYSE L opened at $73.31 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $75.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Loews has a 1-year low of $55.31 and a 1-year high of $78.55. The company has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.83.

Loews (NYSE:L) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 9.02%.

Loews Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.97%.

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.