This Dividend King Beat Earnings Estimates; Is It a Buy?
If you were to just look at year-over-year comparisons for Cincinnati Financial's (NASDAQ: CINF) recent earnings, you would see a company with both revenue and net income declining from the same quarter last year. However, you would be missing the bigger picture, as the company posted good earnings growth on its core business -- underwriting insurance policies.
Once again, Cincinnati Financial saw another solid quarter of premium growth, and that's a big reason why it's a Dividend King stock -- an exclusive list of companies that have increased dividends for 50 years or more. In fact, the insurer has increased its dividend payout for 61 years straight; only eight other S&P 500 companies have a longer streak. Let's dig in.
Cincinnati Financial is a property and casualty insurer headquartered in Ohio. It makes money underwriting a variety of insurance policies and uses excess proceeds to invest in stocks and bonds. Over 60% of the company's written premiums come from its commercial lines of insurance -- or insurance coverage to businesses for things like auto, property, and worker's compensation. Another 26% of its written premiums come from personal lines of insurance, including homeowner's and auto insurance.
Source Fool.com
