Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB) Short Interest Up 11.4% in December

Chubb Limited (NYSE:CB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,130,000 shares, a growth of 11.4% from the December 15th total of 2,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Chubb Price Performance

Shares of CB stock traded down $4.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $269.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,901,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,385,455. Chubb has a 12 month low of $226.74 and a 12 month high of $302.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $277.89 and its 200 day moving average is $278.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.67.

Chubb (NYSE:CB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.98 by $0.74. Chubb had a net margin of 18.32% and a return on equity of 15.46%. The business had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Chubb will post 21.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chubb Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Chubb’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CB. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Chubb from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Chubb from $281.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Chubb from $349.00 to $324.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Chubb from $268.00 to $264.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Chubb from $275.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $288.17.

Institutional Trading of Chubb

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CB. Trust Co. of Oklahoma increased its position in Chubb by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 5,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Chubb by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chubb during the fourth quarter worth approximately $718,000. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Chubb by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Finally, Echo45 Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Chubb by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Chubb Company Profile

Chubb Limited provides insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. The company's North America Commercial P&C Insurance segment offers commercial property, casualty, workers' compensation, package policies, risk management, financial lines, marine, construction, environmental, medical risk, cyber risk, surety, and casualty; and group accident and health insurance to large, middle market, and small commercial businesses.