CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,009,501 shares, a growth of 16.5% from the February 12th total of 1,725,585 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 628,194 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 628,194 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total value of $297,625.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 661,838 shares in the company, valued at $31,516,725.56. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,784,682 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $132,941,000 after purchasing an additional 354,076 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,560,644 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,505,000 after purchasing an additional 376,752 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in CNA Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 890,953 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,534,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in CNA Financial by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 867,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,428,000 after purchasing an additional 178,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 720,165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,381,000 after buying an additional 18,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE CNA opened at $45.86 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.34. CNA Financial has a 12 month low of $43.29 and a 12 month high of $51.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.74 and a 200-day moving average of $46.87.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 8.53%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that CNA Financial will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $2.00 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 409.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CNA shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings raised CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Zacks Research cut CNA Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.