CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of CNA Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CNA Financial from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

CNA Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CNA stock opened at $48.37 on Wednesday. CNA Financial has a 12-month low of $39.19 and a 12-month high of $52.36. The company has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.01. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. Research analysts forecast that CNA Financial will post 4.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNA Financial

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Ann Aguinaga sold 26,160 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total transaction of $1,297,536.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,744 shares in the company, valued at $2,368,102.40. The trade was a 35.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.75, for a total transaction of $1,119,933.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 133,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,521,628.75. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,680 shares of company stock worth $3,355,577. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in CNA Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $231,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 58,958 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,678,000 after acquiring an additional 5,130 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in CNA Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $520,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 706,279 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,079,000 after acquiring an additional 7,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 229.0% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 113,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,173,000 after acquiring an additional 79,280 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 provides commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Specialty, Commercial, International, Life & Group, and Corporate & Other segments. The company offers professional liability coverages and risk management services to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, and accounting and law firms; directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, and fidelity and cyber coverages to small and mid-size firms, public and privately held firms, and not-for-profit organizations; professional and general liability, as well as associated casualty coverages for healthcare industry; surety and fidelity bonds; and warranty and alternative risks products.