Brandes Investment Partners LP Invests $211,000 in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,993 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,178,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,851,000 after purchasing an additional 199,209 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 93.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 306,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,968,000 after acquiring an additional 148,174 shares in the last quarter. Loews Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Loews Corp now owns 248,414,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,775,120,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456,050 shares in the last quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $418,000. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 180,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,098,000 after acquiring an additional 14,955 shares in the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th.

CNA Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of CNA stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $44.83. The company had a trading volume of 30,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,582. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.24 and a 200 day moving average of $43.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.63. CNA Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $36.41 and a 1-year high of $47.37.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 14.27%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Co. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.43%.

Insider Activity at CNA Financial

In related news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 23,301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.78, for a total value of $1,043,418.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 63,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,865,740.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CNA Financial Profile

CNA Financial Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Specialty, Commercial, International, Life & Group, and Corporate & Other segments. The company offers professional liability coverages and risk management services to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, and accounting and law firms; directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, and fidelity and cyber coverages to small and mid-size firms, public and privately held firms, and not-for-profit organizations; professional and general liability, as well as associated casualty coverages for healthcare industry; surety and fidelity bonds; and warranty and alternative risks products.