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Valued at a market cap of $18.8 billion, Loews Corporation (L) is a diversified holding company with interests across multiple industries, including insurance, energy, hospitality, and packaging. The New York-based company primarily provides commercial property and casualty insurance through its CNA Financial subsidiary.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are typically classified as “large-cap stocks,” and Loews fits the label perfectly, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the insurance - property & casualty industry. The company’s ability to strategically allocate capital across various industries has ensured steady growth, risk diversification, and long-term shareholder value creation.
This insurance company touched its 52-week high of $89.67 in the last trading session. Shares of Loews have surged 5.2% over the past three months, outpacing the broader S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 4.4% decline during the same time frame.
In the longer term, L has rallied nearly 15.9% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming SPX’s 10.7% returns over the same time frame. Moreover, on a YTD basis, shares of L are up 5.3%, compared to SPX’s 1.8% downtick.
To confirm its bullish trend, L has been trading above its 200-day moving average since the past year, with slight fluctuations, and has remained above its 50-day moving average since mid-July, 2024, experiencing some fluctuations.
On Feb. 10, shares of Loews experienced a nearly 1% downtick after its Q4 earnings release. The company’s net income plunged 56.8% year-over-year to $0.86 per share due to a pension settlement charge coupled with higher catastrophe losses and investment losses. Moreover, a decline in its property and casualty underwriting income might have further lowered investor confidence. Nonetheless, on the brighter side, its revenue of $4.5 billion improved 6.8% annually due to higher sales across all subsidiaries. Adding to the positives, both net written and net earned premiums saw robust growth, supported by high retention rates and new business acquisitions.
Loews has lagged behind its rival, The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (HIG), which soared nearly 20.7% over the past 52 weeks and 11% on a YTD basis.
Looking at L’s recent outperformance relative to the S&P 500, an analyst remains moderately optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the one analyst covering it, and the mean price target of $217 suggests a notable 143.3% premium to its current levels.
