CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $50.90 and last traded at $50.96, with a volume of 163943 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research downgraded CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.57. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 8.08%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders 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 3.8%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNA. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in CNA Financial by 34.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,101,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $96,482,000 after buying an additional 540,448 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 409.1% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 604,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,107,000 after acquiring an additional 486,127 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in CNA Financial by 1,509,521.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 483,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,062,000 after acquiring an additional 483,047 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in CNA Financial by 8,100.7% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 484,580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,134,000 after acquiring an additional 478,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 14.6% during 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 last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.