Short Interest in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Decreases By 13.6%

CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 968,200 shares, a drop of 13.6% from the February 13th total of 1,120,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 316,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNA Financial

In other news, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $305,375.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 720,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,200,796.12. This trade represents a 0.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 75,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,709,524.72. This trade represents a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in CNA Financial by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 26,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 10,940 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 65.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 4,231 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,668,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 6,505.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 30,780 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after buying an additional 30,314 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE CNA traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.20. 70,749 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 283,792. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.94. CNA Financial has a 12-month low of $42.33 and a 12-month high of $52.36. The firm has a market cap of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97, a PEG ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.14. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 6.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CNA Financial will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.27%.

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.