CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Increases Dividend to $0.44 Per Share

CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 6th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42.

CNA Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 4.3% per year over the last three years. CNA Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 33.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect CNA Financial to earn $5.00 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.2%.

CNA Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CNA traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.51. The company had a trading volume of 13,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,148. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.05 and its 200-day moving average is $42.95. 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 stock has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.63. CNA Financial has a 52 week low of $36.41 and a 52 week high of $47.37.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.07). CNA Financial had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 9.06%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that CNA Financial will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CNA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th.

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.