New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $12.97 Million Stock Position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 93.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 306,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 148,174 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.11% of CNA Financial worth $12,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,994 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 36.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new position in shares of CNA Financial during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in CNA Financial by 84.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNA opened at $43.74 on Tuesday. CNA Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $36.41 and a 1-year high of $47.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.83.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.23. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The company had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $2.44 dividend. This is a positive change from CNA Financial’s previous None dividend of $1.62. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a yield of 3.8%. CNA Financial’s payout ratio is currently 39.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th.

CNA Financial 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.