CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) CAO Sells $1,202,807.04 in Stock

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 22,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $1,202,807.04. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 68,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,611,818.88. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

CNA Financial Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:CNA traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $52.93. 728,758 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 494,271. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $14.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 0.28. CNA Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $41.53 and a 52-week high of $55.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.39.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.11. CNA Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNA. Amundi raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 5.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 7,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 351,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in CNA Financial during the 1st quarter worth $281,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in CNA Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting CNA Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting CNA Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. CNA reported core EPS of $1.19, above the $1.08 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $3.83 billion versus expectations of $2.97 billion. Net income increased to $321 million from $299 million a year earlier. CNA Q2 Earnings Beat on Improved Investment Income, Premium Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Investment income and premiums provided important support. Net investment income rose to $701 million, including $570 million from fixed-income securities and other investments. Property and Casualty net written premiums grew 4%, helping offset softer underwriting performance. CNA Financial posts second quarter net income
• Positive Sentiment: CNA maintained its quarterly dividend. The company declared a $0.48-per-share dividend payable September 3 to shareholders of record August 17, supporting its income-investment appeal and representing an annualized yield of approximately 3.6%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains cautious. Recent reviews characterize CNA as financially improved and attractively valued, but maintain a “Hold” or unchanged-outlook stance, suggesting the earnings beat may already be reflected in the stock’s valuation. CNA Financial Q2 Review: Back To Profitability, Still A Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying insurance profitability weakened. P&C core income fell to $426 million from $448 million, and the combined ratio deteriorated to 96.5% from 94.1%. Core income also declined year over year, indicating that the headline earnings growth relied heavily on investment income rather than improved underwriting.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded CNA Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised CNA Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.