Ieq Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA)

Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of CNA Financial Co. (NYSE:CNA) by 276.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 82,893 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,867 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in CNA Financial were worth $4,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNA. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 107.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 22,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after buying an additional 11,468 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 16.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 69.3% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 26,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 10,940 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 43.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 41,051 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after buying an additional 12,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of CNA Financial by 108.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after buying an additional 16,377 shares during the last quarter. 98.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CNA. StockNews.com cut shares of CNA Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of CNA Financial from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

CNA Financial Price Performance

CNA Financial stock opened at $49.26 on Friday. CNA Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $42.33 and a 12-month high of $52.36. The stock has a market cap of $13.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.14. CNA Financial had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CNA Financial Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

CNA Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from CNA Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. CNA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

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.