Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,178,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 199,209 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $49,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new stake in shares of CNA Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in CNA Financial during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in CNA Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of CNA Financial by 84.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on CNA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CNA Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th.

CNA Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CNA stock traded up $0.50 on Monday, hitting $43.74. The stock had a trading volume of 143,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,863. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.80. CNA Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $36.41 and a 1 year high of $47.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.23. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The company had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Co. will post 5.03 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 dividend of $2.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from CNA Financial’s previous None dividend of $1.62. This represents a yield of 3.8%. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 39.73%.

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.