CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Upgraded at Zacks Research

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of CNA Financial stock opened at $52.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.28. CNA Financial has a 1 year low of $41.53 and a 1 year high of $52.98. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.89.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.47). CNA Financial had a return on equity of 11.57% and a net margin of 8.08%.The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that CNA Financial will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNA. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in CNA Financial by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,101,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $96,482,000 after purchasing an additional 540,448 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 409.1% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 604,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,107,000 after buying an additional 486,127 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position 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 valued at $23,062,000 after buying an additional 483,047 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 8,100.7% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 484,580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,134,000 after buying an additional 478,671 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,784,682 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $132,941,000 after buying an additional 354,076 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.