Norges Bank Makes New Investment in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 349,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,677,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNA. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 409.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 604,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,107,000 after buying an additional 486,127 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 1,509,521.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 483,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,062,000 after buying an additional 483,047 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 8,100.7% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 484,580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,134,000 after buying an additional 478,671 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 429.2% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 425,779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,782,000 after buying an additional 345,322 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 70.8% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,033,000 after buying an additional 285,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CNA shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of CNA Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

CNA Financial Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:CNA opened at $43.89 on Wednesday. CNA Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $41.53 and a 1-year high of $50.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.28 and a 200 day moving average of $46.52. The firm has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.47). CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 8.08%.The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 42.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNA Financial news, SVP Jeffrey John Neuenschwander sold 3,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total value of $151,103.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $334,523.69. The trade was a 31.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial 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.