AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 16,048 Shares of CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) by 22.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,052 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,048 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $4,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth $114,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth $607,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 126.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 58,293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 24,818 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CNA shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of CNA Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

NYSE CNA opened at $44.09 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. CNA Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $42.48 and a 12-month high of $50.72. The firm has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a PEG ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.35.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.47). CNA Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.95%.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other 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 transaction of $151,103.39. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.