CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $49.97, but opened at $47.45. CNA Financial shares last traded at $47.6550, with a volume of 60,624 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNA has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Zacks Research cut CNA Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

CNA Financial Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a P/E/G ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.37. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.95.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. CNA Financial had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 12.23%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 408.0%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is presently 39.23%.

Insider Activity at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total transaction of $297,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 661,838 shares in the company, valued at $31,516,725.56. This represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CNA Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in CNA Financial by 409.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 604,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,107,000 after acquiring an additional 486,127 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 1,509,521.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 483,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,062,000 after purchasing an additional 483,047 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 8,100.7% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 484,580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,134,000 after purchasing an additional 478,671 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 422,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in CNA Financial by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,560,644 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,505,000 after buying an additional 376,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.