Wall Street Zen Upgrades CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) to Buy

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research raised CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CNA Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

CNA Financial Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of CNA Financial stock opened at $47.49 on Friday. CNA Financial has a fifty-two week low of $43.29 and a fifty-two week high of $51.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $12.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.80 and a 200 day moving average of $46.13.

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

Insider Activity at CNA Financial

In related news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total value of $293,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 668,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,346,688.96. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,750 shares of company stock worth $865,313. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNA Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 409.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 604,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,107,000 after buying an additional 486,127 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 578.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 495,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,072,000 after acquiring an additional 422,737 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in CNA Financial by 21.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,355,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $119,090,000 after acquiring an additional 415,856 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CNA Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $17,266,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in CNA Financial by 429.2% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 425,779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,782,000 after acquiring an additional 345,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

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.