CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Short Interest Down 13.6% in February

CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 968,200 shares, a decrease of 13.6% from the February 13th total of 1,120,000 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 316,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CNA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of 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 lowered CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNA Financial news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.06, for a total value of $637,338.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,709,524.72. The trade was a 14.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 720,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,200,796.12. This represents a 0.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNA. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of CNA Financial by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,939,336 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $93,806,000 after purchasing an additional 567,926 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in CNA Financial by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,486,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $71,919,000 after purchasing an additional 249,346 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,177,110 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $56,937,000 after acquiring an additional 468,058 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 661,532 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,998,000 after purchasing an additional 11,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in CNA Financial by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 363,389 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,577,000 after acquiring an additional 97,180 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CNA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNA traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.80. 1,739,155 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 289,511. CNA Financial has a twelve month low of $42.33 and a twelve month high of $52.36. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $13.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.68.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts forecast that CNA Financial will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from CNA Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. CNA Financial's payout ratio 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.