Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,992 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,177,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,937,000 after purchasing an additional 468,058 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. Torray Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 91,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,446,000 after purchasing an additional 19,758 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $819,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 250.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 45,137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,211,000 after purchasing an additional 32,270 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNA opened at $47.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. CNA Financial Co. has a one year low of $42.85 and a one year high of $52.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.55.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.10%.

Insider Activity at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total transaction of $637,338.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,612 shares in the company, valued at $3,709,524.72. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $305,375.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 720,442 shares in the company, valued at $35,200,796.12. This represents a 0.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,756 shares of company stock worth $1,801,876. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

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.