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

CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,200,000 shares, a growth of 10.1% from the August 31st total of 1,090,000 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 341,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CNA Financial from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNA Financial news, EVP Elizabeth Ann Aguinaga sold 26,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total transaction of $1,297,536.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,368,102.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Elizabeth Ann Aguinaga sold 26,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total value of $1,297,536.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,744 shares in the company, valued at $2,368,102.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark Steven James sold 18,547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.58, for a total value of $938,107.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,159,141.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,151 shares of company stock worth $2,449,311 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNA. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 335.4% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,046 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 23,146 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the first quarter valued at about $520,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $14,296,000. Symmetry Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 318.3% during the second quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 20,361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 15,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 97.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,152,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,760,000 after purchasing an additional 570,172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

CNA Financial Price Performance

CNA Financial stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 259,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 275,591. CNA Financial has a 52 week low of $37.95 and a 52 week high of $52.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.52. The stock has a market cap of $13.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.65.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 14.02% and a net margin of 9.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNA Financial will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.43%.

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.