CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.7%

CNA opened at $52.29 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 0.28. CNA Financial has a 1-year low of $41.53 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.89.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.47). CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 8.08%.The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CNA Financial will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is 42.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in CNA Financial by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,972 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 6.8% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 2.9% in the third quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 13.8% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Uncommon Cents Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 26,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,277,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

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.