CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded CNA Financial from a "hold" to a strong sell.
• CNA reported Q1 EPS of $0.83, a miss versus the ~$1.30 consensus driven by underwriting pressure and reserve strengthening, although revenue beat at $3.68 billion.
• Analysts are split—some firms cut ratings while others upgraded—leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" and prompting a share decline despite a steady dividend.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CNA. Wall Street Zen cut CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CNA Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

CNA Financial Price Performance

CNA stock opened at $43.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. CNA Financial has a 12-month low of $42.77 and a 12-month high of $50.72. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $47.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.85.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The insurance provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. CNA Financial had a net margin of 8.08% and a return on equity of 11.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. On average, analysts expect that CNA Financial will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNA Financial

In other news, SVP Jeffrey John Neuenschwander sold 3,287 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total transaction of $151,103.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $334,523.69. This represents a 31.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNA Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 11.4% during the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,871 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of CNA Financial during the first quarter worth about $373,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 92.9% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 9,375 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 4,515 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 1.4% during the first quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 730,219 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,532,000 after acquiring an additional 10,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of CNA Financial by 398.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 17,228 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares in the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting CNA Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting CNA Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Top-line and revenue beats: Q1 revenue of $3.68B exceeded the cited analyst comparison (about $2.93B), and management pointed to modest premium and investment income gains that partially offset underwriting pressures. Q1 results presentation
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and investors say the long-term thesis remains intact despite the quarter—citing diversified business, capital position and dividend support. A Difficult Quarter, But The Thesis Remains Intact
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and presentation: management discussed reserve activity, underwriting trends and the drivers behind the miss—useful for investors parsing whether issues are cyclical or structural. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split on outlook and valuation—coverage ranges from cautious to constructive, so near-term analyst revisions and commentary are likely to vary. Analysts Conflicted
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss driven by weak underwriting income: reported EPS of $0.83 missed the consensus ~$1.30, largely due to underwriting pressure and reserve actions. MSN coverage of EPS miss
• Negative Sentiment: Reserve strengthening and higher casualty claims: management took casualty reserve actions and reported weaker combined-ratio dynamics, which directly pressured underwriting profitability. Insurance Business: reserve action
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and dividend stance: shares moved lower after the softer quarter despite a steady dividend, reflecting investor concern about near-term underwriting trends and potential earnings revisions. Yahoo Finance: market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution on underwriting outlook: earnings coverage highlights higher claims and a weaker combined ratio as the principal drivers of the miss, raising questions about cadence of improvement. Zacks: underwriting pressure

CNA Financial Company Profile

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.

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