Short Interest in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Drops By 13.6%

CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) saw a large decrease in short interest in 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 presently 3.1 days.

Insider Activity at CNA Financial

In other CNA Financial news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,709,524.72. This represents a 14.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Dino Robusto bought 3,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $47.63 per share, for a total transaction of $185,566.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 724,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,500,218.94. This represents a 0.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNA Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 41.4% during 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 last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 20.1% during 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 grew its holdings 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 valued at $56,937,000 after purchasing an additional 468,058 shares during the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 661,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,998,000 after acquiring an additional 11,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew 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 worth $17,577,000 after acquiring an additional 97,180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on CNA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

CNA Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNA opened at $49.22 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $48.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.68. CNA Financial has a one year low of $42.33 and a one year high of $52.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.90%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CNA Financial will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. This is a positive change from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.