CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of CNA Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

CNA Financial Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of CNA opened at $49.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.37. CNA Financial has a 1 year low of $43.29 and a 1 year high of $51.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.89.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). CNA Financial had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNA Financial will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a $2.00 dividend. This represents a yield of 407.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.23%.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total transaction of $297,625.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 661,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,516,725.56. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNA Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,972 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 6.8% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in CNA Financial by 2.9% in the third quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in CNA Financial by 1.5% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 19,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CNA Financial

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.