Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Loews Corporation $L

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Loews Corporation (NYSE:L) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,105 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Loews in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Loews during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA purchased a new stake in Loews during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Loews by 896.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Loews during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 58.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrew H. Tisch sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.81, for a total value of $5,440,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,480,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,357,992,324. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 19.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Loews in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Loews presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Loews Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of L opened at $103.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.97. Loews Corporation has a twelve month low of $86.77 and a twelve month high of $114.90.

Loews (NYSE:L) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter. Loews had a return on equity of 8.51% and a net margin of 8.83%.The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter.

Loews Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Loews’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.18%.

Loews Company Profile

Loews Corporation (NYSE: L) is a diversified holding company that owns and operates businesses across insurance, hospitality, energy-related operations and other industrial and investment activities. The company holds controlling and significant minority interests in subsidiaries that run as standalone businesses, with corporate oversight focused on capital allocation, risk management and long-term value creation for shareholders.

One of Loews’ principal businesses is insurance, conducted through CNA Financial, a commercial property and casualty insurer that underwrites a range of business insurance products for corporate and institutional clients.