CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Holdings Lowered by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,046,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 10,805 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 0.39% of CNA Financial worth $44,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Loews Corp increased its position in CNA Financial by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Loews Corp now owns 248,414,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,775,120,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456,050 shares during the last quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in CNA Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $418,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in CNA Financial by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 180,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,098,000 after purchasing an additional 14,955 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in CNA Financial by 232.1% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 46,620 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 32,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in CNA Financial by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 214,112 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,425,000 after purchasing an additional 16,510 shares during the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNA Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE CNA traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.81. 160,323 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 220,127. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.54. CNA Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.41 and a fifty-two week high of $47.37.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. CNA Financial had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 9.06%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. On average, analysts expect that CNA Financial Co. will post 5.01 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $2.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a yield of 3.8%. This is a positive change from CNA Financial’s previous None dividend of $1.62. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNA has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America lowered CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

CNA Financial 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.