CNA Financial Corporation $CNA Shares Bought by Wealthstar Advisors LLC

Wealthstar Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) by 32.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,004 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Wealthstar Advisors LLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNA. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in CNA Financial by 62.1% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 2,667 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 69.3% in the first quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 5,383 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 10.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the first quarter valued at about $470,000. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 10.5% in the first quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 21,012 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 1,997 shares during the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CNA Financial Price Performance

CNA Financial stock opened at $46.11 on Friday. CNA Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.29 and a 12-month high of $51.42. The stock has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.29. CNA Financial had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CNA Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNA Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Activity

In other CNA Financial news, CFO Scott R. Lindquist sold 8,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.98, for a total transaction of $410,452.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 81,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,991,233.26. This trade represents a 9.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.25, for a total transaction of $289,062.50. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 680,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,477,195. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,880 shares of company stock valued at $1,493,865. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About CNA Financial

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.