CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a buy (b-) rating to a buy (b) rating. The company traded as high as $52.97 and last traded at $52.7340, with a volume of 20220 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.42.

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded CNA Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNA Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in CNA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in CNA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 142.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.89. The company has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.47). CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 8.08%.The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is 42.95%.

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.