Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Holdings in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) by 162.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,600 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $2,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in CNA Financial by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,972 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in CNA Financial by 6.8% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of CNA Financial by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC now owns 39,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of CNA Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNA Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNA Financial news, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 22,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.09, for a total transaction of $1,202,807.04. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 68,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,611,818.88. This represents a 24.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark Steven James sold 8,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.15, for a total value of $439,709.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,405,604.90. The trade was a 23.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of CNA opened at $52.04 on Monday. CNA Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $41.53 and a 12-month high of $55.71. The stock has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.56.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.11. CNA Financial had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The business had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.20%.

About CNA Financial

CNA Financial Corporation is a leading U.S.-based commercial property and casualty insurance company offering a broad portfolio of risk management and insurance solutions. The company underwrites coverage for businesses of all sizes across a variety of industry sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, energy, technology, construction and real estate. In addition to core property and casualty insurance, CNA delivers specialized products such as surety bonds, professional liability, environmental liability and commercial auto coverage.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, CNA traces its origins to the founding of Continental Casualty Company in 1897.