CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on CNA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CNA Financial in a report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

CNA Financial Trading Down 0.7%

CNA Financial stock opened at $47.49 on Friday. CNA Financial has a one year low of $43.29 and a one year high of $51.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.80 and its 200 day moving average is $46.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 6.71%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNA Financial will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.41%.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total transaction of $293,250.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 668,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,346,688.96. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,750 shares of company stock valued at $865,313. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CNA Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,435,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $112,806,000 after purchasing an additional 80,700 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 26.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,499,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,784,000 after buying an additional 309,534 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 15.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,183,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,004,000 after buying an additional 156,077 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 701,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,610,000 after buying an additional 17,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,033,000 after buying an additional 285,850 shares in the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNA Financial Company Profile

CNA Financial Corporation is a leading U.S.-based commercial property and casualty insurance company offering a broad portfolio of risk management and insurance solutions. The company underwrites coverage for businesses of all sizes across a variety of industry sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, energy, technology, construction and real estate. In addition to core property and casualty insurance, CNA delivers specialized products such as surety bonds, professional liability, environmental liability and commercial auto coverage.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, CNA traces its origins to the founding of Continental Casualty Company in 1897.