William Blair Analysts Increase Earnings Estimates for CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) – Stock analysts at William Blair lifted their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of CNA Financial in a research note issued on Tuesday, May 7th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber now expects that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $1.26 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.23. The consensus estimate for CNA Financial’s current full-year earnings is $5.03 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for CNA Financial’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.28 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $5.14 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.55 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.30 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $5.45 EPS.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on CNA. Bank of America downgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $39.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

CNA Financial Price Performance

NYSE CNA opened at $44.79 on Wednesday. CNA Financial has a 12-month low of $36.41 and a 12-month high of $47.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $44.06 and its 200-day moving average is $43.00. The company has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNA Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loews Corp raised its stake in CNA Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Loews Corp now owns 248,414,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,775,120,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456,050 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,296,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,178,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,851,000 after buying an additional 199,209 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 93.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 306,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,968,000 after buying an additional 148,174 shares during the period. Finally, WBI Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in CNA Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $2,939,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 23,301 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.78, for a total transaction of $1,043,418.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 63,996 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,865,740.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.73%.

About CNA Financial

CNA Financial Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Specialty, Commercial, International, Life & Group, and Corporate & Other segments. The company offers professional liability coverages and risk management services to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, and accounting and law firms; directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, and fidelity and cyber coverages to small and mid-size firms, public and privately held firms, and not-for-profit organizations; professional and general liability, as well as associated casualty coverages for healthcare industry; surety and fidelity bonds; and warranty and alternative risks products.