CNA Financial Corporation $CNA Shares Purchased by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) by 156.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,004 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 42,725 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $3,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNA. Amundi grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 5.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 7,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 351,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in CNA Financial by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in CNA Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in CNA Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Wall Street Zen raised CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CNA Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total value of $297,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 661,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,516,725.56. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 18,750 shares of company stock worth $873,875 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CNA Financial Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of CNA opened at $47.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.37. CNA Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.29 and a 52 week high of $51.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.25. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 6.71%.The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.