CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CNA Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

CNA Financial Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:CNA opened at $43.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.05 and a 200-day moving average of $46.85. The company has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.35. CNA Financial has a one year low of $42.77 and a one year high of $50.72.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CNA Financial will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, SVP Jeffrey John Neuenschwander sold 3,287 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $334,523.69. This represents a 31.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNA. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,183,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,004,000 after buying an additional 156,077 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 125.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 164,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,625,000 after buying an additional 91,205 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,092,000. CORDA Investment Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 701,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,610,000 after buying an additional 17,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,632,000. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting CNA Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting CNA Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Top-line and revenue beats: Q1 revenue of $3.68B exceeded the cited analyst comparison (about $2.93B), and management pointed to modest premium and investment income gains that partially offset underwriting pressures. Q1 results presentation
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and investors say the long-term thesis remains intact despite the quarter—citing diversified business, capital position and dividend support. A Difficult Quarter, But The Thesis Remains Intact
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and presentation: management discussed reserve activity, underwriting trends and the drivers behind the miss—useful for investors parsing whether issues are cyclical or structural. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split on outlook and valuation—coverage ranges from cautious to constructive, so near-term analyst revisions and commentary are likely to vary. Analysts Conflicted
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss driven by weak underwriting income: reported EPS of $0.83 missed the consensus ~$1.30, largely due to underwriting pressure and reserve actions. MSN coverage of EPS miss
• Negative Sentiment: Reserve strengthening and higher casualty claims: management took casualty reserve actions and reported weaker combined-ratio dynamics, which directly pressured underwriting profitability. Insurance Business: reserve action
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and dividend stance: shares moved lower after the softer quarter despite a steady dividend, reflecting investor concern about near-term underwriting trends and potential earnings revisions. Yahoo Finance: market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution on underwriting outlook: earnings coverage highlights higher claims and a weaker combined ratio as the principal drivers of the miss, raising questions about cadence of improvement. Zacks: underwriting pressure

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.