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 research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

CNA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of CNA stock opened at $45.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.50. CNA Financial has a 1-year low of $43.29 and a 1-year high of $51.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.52.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.25. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 5.99%.The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNA Financial will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNA Financial

In related news, CFO Scott R. Lindquist sold 8,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.98, for a total value of $410,452.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 81,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,991,233.26. This represents a 9.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total transaction of $283,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 674,338 shares in the company, valued at $30,534,024.64. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,130 shares of company stock valued at $1,776,865. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 210.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 862,690 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,816,000 after buying an additional 585,076 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 578.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 495,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,072,000 after acquiring an additional 422,737 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,355,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $119,090,000 after acquiring an additional 415,856 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CNA Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $17,266,000. Finally, Torray Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CNA Financial by 335.0% during the second quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,918 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,678,000 after acquiring an additional 325,695 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Company 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.