CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $46.20 and traded as high as $48.12. CNA Financial shares last traded at $48.0750, with a volume of 320,286 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CNA Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research raised CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

CNA Financial Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.20. The company has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.40.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.41%.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In related news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total value of $293,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 668,088 shares in the company, valued at $31,346,688.96. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 18,750 shares of company stock valued at $865,313 in the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 3.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,435,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $112,806,000 after purchasing an additional 80,700 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 26.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,499,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $69,784,000 after buying an additional 309,534 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 15.2% in 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. CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its stake in CNA Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 701,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,610,000 after buying an additional 17,046 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in CNA Financial by 70.8% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,033,000 after acquiring an additional 285,850 shares in 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.