CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

CNA Financial Stock Up 0.7%

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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.20. The stock has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.40.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.25. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.71% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts expect that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total value of $293,250.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 668,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,346,688.96. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,750 shares of company stock worth $865,313. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 104.3% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 5,464 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew its position in CNA Financial by 2.8% in the second quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 684,838 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,866,000 after acquiring an additional 18,856 shares during the period. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. raised its stake in CNA Financial by 13.3% during the second quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. now owns 145,703 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,599,000 after acquiring an additional 17,048 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in CNA Financial during the second quarter worth $1,153,000. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 168.3% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 14,690 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 9,214 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.