CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $52.86 and last traded at $51.8460, with a volume of 587680 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.69.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 8.08%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CNA Financial by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,784,682 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $132,941,000 after purchasing an additional 354,076 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 34.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,101,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $96,482,000 after buying an additional 540,448 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 890,953 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,534,000 after buying an additional 2,348 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 867,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,428,000 after buying an additional 178,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its position in CNA Financial by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 730,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,532,000 after buying an additional 10,054 shares during the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is owned by 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.