Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for CNA Financial Co. Raised by William Blair (NYSE:CNA)

CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) – William Blair upped their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of CNA Financial in a research report issued on Tuesday, May 7th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber now anticipates that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $1.26 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.23. The consensus estimate for CNA Financial’s current full-year earnings is $5.03 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for CNA Financial’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.28 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $5.14 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.55 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.30 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $5.45 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CNA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America downgraded CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $39.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

CNA Financial Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE CNA opened at $44.79 on Wednesday. CNA Financial has a 12-month low of $36.41 and a 12-month high of $47.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.00. 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 company has a market cap of $12.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.63.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 9.06%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNA Financial news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 23,301 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.78, for a total value of $1,043,418.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 63,996 shares in the company, valued at $2,865,740.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNA Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNA. Loews Corp lifted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Loews Corp now owns 248,414,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,775,120,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456,050 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,178,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,851,000 after buying an additional 199,209 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in CNA Financial by 8.3% during the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 875,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,439,000 after buying an additional 66,795 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 631,186 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,705,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CNA Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $14,296,000. 98.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.