CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CNA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CNA Financial in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CNA Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

CNA Financial Stock Down 0.7%

CNA Financial stock opened at $47.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. CNA Financial has a one year low of $43.29 and a one year high of $51.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.40.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.25. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.71% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CNA Financial will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total value of $293,250.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 668,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,346,688.96. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 18,750 shares of company stock worth $865,313 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNA Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNA. Alpine Bank Wealth Management raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,680 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 1.5% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 19,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

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.