CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

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

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of CNA Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

CNA Financial Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:CNA opened at $46.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.26. CNA Financial has a 1 year low of $43.29 and a 1 year high of $51.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.25. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.71% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts expect that CNA Financial will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.92, for a total transaction of $293,250.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 668,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,346,688.96. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 409.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 578.1% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,266,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 425,779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,782,000 after acquiring an additional 345,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torray Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CNA Financial by 335.0% during the second quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,918 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,678,000 after purchasing an additional 325,695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

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.