Since the start of February, three insiders at Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF) acquired shares of the company. Two of them paid the full price per share, whilst the other one used the Employee Stock Options (Right to Buy), in order to get the securities at a discount price. In this way, Timothy Timmel, Sr. Vice President at a Subsidiary of Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF), on Feb. 3rd, purchased 13,535 shares of the company, 8,000 of them for $26.59 each, and 5,535, for $26.58 per share. Following these transactions, Mr. Timmel holds more than 142,000 shares, all of them indirectly.*
A few days later, on Feb. 7th, David Osborn (Board Director) and Michael Sewell (CFO, Sr. Vice President and Treasurer), also disclosed acquisition of shares. Osborn bought 670 shares at a price of $45.42 apiece, and now owns 9,774 shares. Mr. Sewell, on his part, acquired 3,000 shares. His holdings at Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF) now amount to 22,503 shares. Both these purchases follow strong, estimate-beating, Q4 earnings (operating earnings of $0.72 per share), reported by the company on last week. The performance was mainly attributed to an increased premium income and a sizable contribution from the company’s Personal, Commercial, Excess and Surplus segments.
Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF) is a mid-cap property casualty insurer. Its stock trades at 12.9 times the company’s earnings, a slight premium in relation to its peers’ mean of 11.8x. However, its growth projections are far from ideal. This is why, despite the earnings beat, most analysts tend to recommend holding on this stock –despite its above average margins, returns and generous dividend yield.
On the other hand, three insiders betting on the company in one week can certainly be interpreted as a bullish sign (especially, as they are ignoring the benefits of diversifying their investments). Furthermore, it is not only insiders that are betting on Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF). David Harding’s Winton Capital Management, by the end of Q4, held more than 980,000 shares. However, this position only comprised 0.46% of Winton’s Q4 equity portfolio.
In addition, several major hedge funds like Jean-Marie Eveillard´s First Eagle Investment Management, and Royce & Associates hold stakes in the worth several million dollars, which were upped –or at least maintained- during Q4.
* By a Trust, a 401(k) Plan, the IRA, and his Spouse’s Trust.
Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no position in any stocks mentioned
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