CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Short Interest Update

CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 917,400 shares, a growth of 12.8% from the December 15th total of 813,400 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 260,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of CNA Financial from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on CNA Financial from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th.

CNA Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CNA opened at $48.93 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.85. CNA Financial has a 12 month low of $42.24 and a 12 month high of $52.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.67.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.01. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that CNA Financial will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is 36.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Douglas Worman sold 22,973 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 133,777 shares in the company, valued at $6,521,628.75. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNA Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 6,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 24,880 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CNA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 13,409 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 2,117 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

About CNA Financial

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.