CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) Raises Dividend to $0.44 Per Share

CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 6th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42.

CNA Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.3% per year over the last three years. CNA Financial has a payout ratio of 33.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect CNA Financial to earn $5.00 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.2%.

CNA Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CNA opened at $44.16 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. CNA Financial has a 52 week low of $36.41 and a 52 week high of $47.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.05 and its 200 day moving average is $42.99. The company has a market cap of $11.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.63.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. CNA Financial had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that CNA Financial will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on CNA shares. Bank of America cut shares of CNA Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $39.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CNA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of 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 Company 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.