CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a buy (b-) rating to a buy (b) rating. The stock traded as high as $52.97 and last traded at $52.7340, with a volume of 20220 shares changing 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CNA Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNA Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNA. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in CNA Financial by 41.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 135,873 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,239,000 after purchasing an additional 40,130 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in CNA Financial by 1.2% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 119,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in CNA Financial by 18.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,222 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 48.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 685,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,467,000 after purchasing an additional 225,030 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.7%

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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.89. The stock 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.