CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $50.90 and last traded at $50.96, with a volume of 163943 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNA. Zacks Research lowered CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNA Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

CNA Financial Trading Up 2.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.57.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced 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). CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 8.08%.The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 42.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi lifted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in CNA Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 351,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in CNA Financial by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in CNA Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $281,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the second quarter valued at $55,000. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.