PDT Partners LLC Makes New $1.06 Million Investment in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 21,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CNA. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $561,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in CNA Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,408,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in CNA Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in CNA Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $420,000. Finally, Hudson Portfolio Management LLC acquired a new position in CNA Financial during the second quarter worth $1,941,000. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of CNA Financial stock opened at $49.42 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.79. CNA Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $41.53 and a 12-month high of $55.71. The company has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CNA shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In related news, EVP Mark Steven James sold 8,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.15, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 23.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 22,656 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 68,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,611,818.88. The trade was a 24.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.