Vest Financial LLC Takes $1.58 Million Position in CNA Financial Corporation $CNA

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake of 33,019 shares of CNA Financial in Q4, valued at approximately $1.58 million.
• Several large institutions — including Millennium Management, M&T Bank, Two Sigma, UBS and Jacobs Levy — markedly increased holdings, leaving hedge funds and other institutional investors with 98.45% ownership of the stock.
• CNA reported Q4 EPS of $1.16 (missing the $1.20 estimate) and $3.83 billion in revenue, trades at a market cap of $13.03 billion with a P/E of 10.29, and recently paid an annual dividend of $2.00 per share (ex-dividend Feb 23).

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 33,019 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,576,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 409.1% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 604,963 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,107,000 after acquiring an additional 486,127 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 8,100.7% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 484,580 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $23,134,000 after acquiring an additional 478,671 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 429.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 425,779 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,782,000 after acquiring an additional 345,322 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,473 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,033,000 after acquiring an additional 285,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 69.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 656,067 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,481,000 after acquiring an additional 268,917 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CNA. Zacks Research lowered CNA Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings raised CNA Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered CNA Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.0%

CNA opened at $48.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 0.35. CNA Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.29 and a 52 week high of $50.72. The business's 50 day moving average is $47.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 8.53%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CNA Financial Corporation will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

CNA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $2.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a yield of 409.0%. CNA Financial's payout ratio is 40.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jeffrey John Neuenschwander sold 3,287 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total value of $151,103.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,277 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $334,523.69. The trade was a 31.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.

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