CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Stock Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $47.71 and traded as high as $48.03. CNA Financial shares last traded at $47.8410, with a volume of 324,064 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded CNA Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised CNA Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CNA Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

CNA Financial Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.71.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.20%.

Insider Activity at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, CAO Daniel Franzetti sold 22,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $1,202,807.04. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 68,032 shares in the company, valued at $3,611,818.88. This trade represents a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark James sold 8,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.15, for a total value of $439,709.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,604.90. This represents a 23.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNA Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,193,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in CNA Financial by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,101,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $96,482,000 after purchasing an additional 540,448 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in CNA Financial by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 685,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,467,000 after purchasing an additional 225,030 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in CNA Financial in the second quarter worth about $9,267,000. Finally, Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. purchased a new position in CNA Financial in the second quarter worth about $7,935,000. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CNA Financial

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE: CNA) is a commercial property and casualty insurance company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through its CNA Insurance operations, the company provides insurance products and risk-management services to businesses, professional organizations and other commercial customers.

CNA’s offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, specialty insurance, professional liability, management liability, cyber insurance, workers’ compensation, marine insurance, surety and other risk solutions.