Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $387,000 Position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,992 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 66.0% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 468,058 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Torray Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 91,920 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,446,000 after acquiring an additional 19,758 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $819,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CNA Financial by 250.8% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 45,137 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,211,000 after acquiring an additional 32,270 shares during the period. 98.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNA Financial news, Chairman Dino Robusto bought 3,896 shares of CNA Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $47.63 per share, with a total value of $185,566.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 724,338 shares in the company, valued at $34,500,218.94. The trade was a 0.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Daniel Paul Franzetti sold 12,991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,709,524.72. This trade represents a 14.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,006 shares of company stock valued at $2,099,564 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CNA Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNA traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.05. 206,584 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 320,638. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.55. CNA Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $42.85 and a 1-year high of $52.36. The firm has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.53.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.13). CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 6.72%. The company had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. CNA Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.