CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $52.99 and last traded at $53.1850, with a volume of 26885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CNA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research upgraded CNA Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $14.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 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 the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.95%.

Institutional Trading of CNA Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in CNA Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in CNA Financial during the second quarter valued at $55,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in CNA Financial by 142.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CNA Financial by 28.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.