Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Boosts Holdings in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,178,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 199,209 shares during the quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned about 0.43% of CNA Financial worth $49,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CNA. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new stake in CNA Financial in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in CNA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in CNA Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in CNA Financial by 84.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th.

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:CNA traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $43.74. 143,967 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 215,863. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.04 and its 200-day moving average is $42.80. CNA Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $36.41 and a 12-month high of $47.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNA Financial Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $2.44 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from CNA Financial’s previous None dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.73%.

CNA Financial Profile

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.