AGF Management Ltd. Purchases New Stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 52,364 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,533,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CNA. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 26.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,449 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of CNA Financial in the third quarter valued at $840,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 69.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,526 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 65.8% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,665 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 4,231 shares in the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on CNA shares. StockNews.com lowered CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

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CNA Financial Price Performance

CNA Financial stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.05. 364,498 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 283,945. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.56 and a 200 day moving average of $48.99. CNA Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $42.33 and a 1-year high of $52.36. The company has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.68.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. 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 dividend yield of 3.75%. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.