Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF)

CINF is an insurance company that is actually profitable from the sale of their policies, which is rare in the insurance industry. (most insurance companies make all of their profits off of the cash they invest that they hold in float) They have taken a big hit from flooding, tornados and weather issues in the Midwest and are going to take a loss this year on their underwriting. Like Berkshire Hathaway they invest their float in more risky investments to produce larger returns on the float. Which I find very attractive. CINF's investing strategy consists of stocks that provide large dividends and have potential for continuing growth. If you look at their investments over the long term the gains are very impressive. (check out there 10k) They have taken losses in the year due to heavy investmenting in the financial sector, mainly Fifth Third Bank, which has recently been hammered. It was a poor move to not sell some of these investments and cut their losses but then again many have made the same mistake. On a side note the CEO also sits on the board of Fifth Third Bank Corp. which is a tad bit fishy seeing as 27% of their stock holdings are in 5/3. Financials will inevitably bounce back within the next few years as will the rest of the market putting CINF's profits back in line with past performance. Cincinnati Financial Corp. is a solid company that has been around for 48 years and has strong experienced management. They have been increasing their dividend every year since the inception of the company. I believe the company is currently underpriced and a solid value buy in the $25 range.