Group 1: Analyst Ratings and Market Sentiment - Wall Street analysts have "Buy" ratings on 388 stocks in the S&P 500, representing over 76% of the index, indicating a general optimism among analysts [1] - The prevalence of "Buy" ratings means that any upgrades are limited, as most stocks are already rated highly, while "Holds" and "Sells" present potential for improvement [2] - The article suggests that contrarian investors should consider stocks with lower ratings, as they may present better buying opportunities [2] Group 2: National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSA) - NSA is a self-storage REIT with 1,075 properties across 41 states and Puerto Rico, known for being recession-resistant [3][4] - Despite a historical competence in operations, NSA faces a bearish consensus with only one "Buy" rating against 10 "Holds" and four "Sells" [6] - NSA's dividend yield is over 6%, but its payout is tight at 97% of its 2025 FFO estimates, and the stock trades at approximately 15 times those estimates [6][7] Group 3: CNA Financial (CNA) - CNA is a major commercial property and casualty insurer in the U.S., with 90% ownership by conglomerate Loews [8] - The company pays a regular dividend of 46 cents per share, yielding 3.9%, along with a special dividend that has been consistent for the past decade [9][11] - CNA has a bearish consensus rating, but only one analyst covers it, indicating a lack of interest from analysts [12][13] Group 4: Cricut (CRCT) - Cricut is known for its crafting machines and software, and it has recently initiated a special dividend of 40 cents per share and a regular semiannual dividend of 10 cents [14][15] - Despite the dividend announcements, Cricut's revenues have declined by 7% in 2024, and profits are expected to decrease in the coming years [17][18] - The stock currently has three "Sell" calls and one "Hold," reflecting negative sentiment among analysts [18] Group 5: Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD) - GSBD is a business development company targeting firms with annual EBITDA between $5 million and $75 million, primarily dealing in debt [19][20] - The company has faced challenges, including a nearly 30% cut to its regular dividend due to high non-accruals and declining net investment income [22][23] - Despite these issues, GSBD offers a high yield of 16.5% based on promised dividends for 2025, trading at a 17% discount to NAV [24]

Core Insights - CNA Financial Corporation reported first-quarter 2025 core earnings of $1.03 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.2%, and reflecting a year-over-year decrease of 20.7% [1] - Total operating revenues increased by 5.9% year over year to $3.2 billion, driven by higher premiums, and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.5% [1] Financial Performance - Net written premiums for Property & Casualty Operations rose by 9% year over year to $2.6 billion, surpassing the estimate of $2.3 billion [2] - Net investment income decreased by 0.8% year over year to $604 million, falling short of the estimate of $698.2 million [2] - Total claims, benefits, and expenses increased by 8.6% to $3.3 billion, primarily due to higher insurance claims and policyholders' benefits, exceeding the estimate of $3 billion [3] - Underwriting income fell by 68.2% year over year to $40 million, with catastrophe losses amounting to $97 million, including $53 million for California wildfires, compared to a loss of $88 million in the prior year [3] Combined Ratio and Segment Results - The combined ratio deteriorated by 380 basis points year over year to 98.4, including 3.8 points of catastrophe loss from California wildfires [4] - Specialty's net written premiums increased by 6% year over year to $842 million, exceeding the estimate of $748 million, with a combined ratio of 95.1 [5] - Commercial's net written premiums climbed by 12% year over year to $1.5 billion, surpassing the estimate of $1.3 billion, with a combined ratio of 101.1 [5] - International's net written premiums rose by 2% year over year to $266 million, slightly above the estimate of $262 million, with a combined ratio of 95.4 [5] - Life & Group's net earned premiums decreased by 3.6% year over year to $106 million, with core income of $6 million, reflecting a 20% increase year over year [6] Corporate and Financial Update - Corporate & Other's core loss widened to $36 million from a loss of $22 million in the prior year, primarily due to a $17 million after-tax charge related to legacy mass tort claims [7] - Total assets increased by 1.2% from the end of 2024 to $67.6 billion, while stockholders' equity decreased by 2.2% to $10.2 billion [8] - The core return on equity contracted by 230 basis points to 9.2%, with book value, excluding AOCI, rising by 2% to $44.58 per share [8] - Statutory surplus decreased by 1.9% to $10.9 billion, and debt-to-capital ratio deteriorated by 40 basis points to 22.4 [8] - Net cash flows from operating activities increased by 26.5% from the end of 2024 to $638 million [9] Dividend Update - CNA Financial's board approved a quarterly dividend of 46 cents per share, payable on June 5 to shareholders as of May 19 [10]

Company Performance - CNA Financial reported quarterly earnings of $1.03 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.16 per share, and down from $1.30 per share a year ago, representing an earnings surprise of -11.21% [1] - The company posted revenues of $3.24 billion for the quarter ended March 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.53%, compared to year-ago revenues of $3.06 billion [2] - Over the last four quarters, CNA Financial has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times and topped consensus revenue estimates four times [2] Future Outlook - The sustainability of CNA Financial's stock price movement will depend on management's commentary during the earnings call and the earnings outlook [3][4] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the coming quarter is $1.24 on revenues of $3.26 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is $4.48 on revenues of $13.28 billion [7] - The estimate revisions trend for CNA Financial is currently unfavorable, resulting in a Zacks Rank 4 (Sell) for the stock, indicating expected underperformance in the near future [6] Industry Context - The Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, to which CNA Financial belongs, is currently in the top 17% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting a favorable industry outlook [8] - Empirical research indicates a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, which can impact stock performance [5]

Financial Performance - Q1 2025 - Loews Corporation's net income was $370 million, or $1.74 per share, compared to $457 million, or $2.05 per share, in Q1 2024[13] - Dividends from subsidiaries totaled $686 million in Q1 2025[13] - Parent company cash and investments stood at $3.5 billion as of March 31, 2025[8, 13] - Book value per share excluding AOCI increased to $89.74 as of March 31, 2025, from $88.18 as of December 31, 2024[13] Subsidiary Performance - Q1 2025 - CNA's net income attributable to Loews decreased to $252 million, primarily due to lower underwriting income[14, 16] - Boardwalk's net income attributable to Loews increased to $152 million due to increased revenues[14, 16] - Loews Hotels' net income attributable to Loews decreased to $0 million primarily due to lower equity income from joint ventures[14, 16] CNA Financial Highlights - Q1 2025 - CNA's net written premiums increased to $2.606 billion from $2.390 billion[27] - CNA's underlying combined ratio was 92.1%, while the combined ratio was 98.4%[27] Boardwalk Pipelines Highlights - Q1 2025 - Boardwalk's operating revenue increased to $619 million from $511 million[30] - Boardwalk's net income attributable to Loews increased to $152 million from $121 million[30] - Boardwalk's EBITDA was $346 million[30] Loews Hotels & Co Highlights - Q1 2025 - Loews Hotels & Co's revenue increased to $245 million from $216 million[32] - Loews Hotels & Co's Adjusted EBITDA was $81 million[32]

Financial Performance - Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2025, was $274 million, a decrease of 19% compared to $338 million in the same period of 2024[10] - Total comprehensive income increased to $480 million in Q1 2025, up from $438 million in Q1 2024, reflecting a rise of 9.6%[10] - Basic earnings per share decreased to $1.01 in 2025 from $1.24 in 2024, reflecting a decline of 18.5%[24] - Core income for Q1 2025 was $281 million, compared to $355 million in Q1 2024, reflecting a decrease of 20.8%[119] - Total operating revenues for Q1 2025 reached $3,636 million, an increase from $3,466 million in Q1 2024, representing a growth of 4.9%[119] Assets and Liabilities - Total assets as of March 31, 2025, were $67,326 million, compared to $66,492 million as of December 31, 2024, indicating a growth of 1.25%[11] - Total liabilities increased to $57,047 million as of March 31, 2025, from $55,979 million at the end of 2024, representing a rise of 1.91%[11] - The total stockholders' equity decreased to $10,279 million as of March 31, 2025, from $10,513 million at the end of 2024, a decline of 2.2%[11] Cash Flow and Dividends - Cash flows provided by operating activities for Q1 2025 were $638 million, an increase of 26.5% from $504 million in Q1 2024[13] - The company paid dividends of $673 million to common stockholders in Q1 2025, slightly up from $667 million in Q1 2024[13] Investment Performance - The company experienced net unrealized gains on investments of $280 million in Q1 2025, compared to net unrealized losses of $215 million in Q1 2024[10] - Net investment income for the three months ended March 31, 2025, was $604 million, slightly down from $609 million in 2024[28] - The company reported net investment losses of $9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to losses of $22 million in 2024[29] - The estimated fair value of total fixed maturity securities available-for-sale as of March 31, 2025, was $41,971 million, compared to $41,111 million as of December 31, 2024[33] Claims and Reserves - Catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance, amounted to $97 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, driven by severe weather events, including $53 million related to California wildfires[71] - The net reserves for claims and claim adjustment expenses at the end of March 2025 were $19,764 million, an increase from $18,347 million at the end of March 2024[73] - The company incurred net claim and claim adjustment expenses of $1,740 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $1,506 million for the same period in 2024[73] Stock Repurchase and Equity - The company repurchased 700,000 shares of common stock at an aggregate cost of $34 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025, with no repurchases in the same period of 2024[25] - The total equity securities as of March 31, 2025, were valued at $695 million, an increase from $659 million as of December 31, 2024[55] Future Commitments and Projections - The company has commitments to purchase or fund approximately $1,575 million and sell approximately $95 million as of March 31, 2025[45] - The company expects to recognize approximately $1.1 billion of deferred revenue in the remainder of 2025, $1.0 billion in 2026, $0.9 billion in 2027, and $1.5 billion thereafter[128]

Financial Performance - Net income decreased to $274 million, a 19% decrease compared to $338 million in the prior year quarter[7,8] - Core income decreased to $281 million, a 21% decrease compared to $355 million in the prior year quarter[7,8] - Core ROE decreased by 2.3 percentage points to 9.2% compared to 11.5% in the prior year quarter[8] Property & Casualty Operations - P&C core income was $311 million, reflecting lower underwriting results partially offset by higher net investment income, compared to $372 million in the prior year[7] - The P&C combined ratio increased to 98.4%, compared to 94.6% in the prior year quarter, including 3.8 points of catastrophe loss impact in both quarters[7,9] - P&C underlying combined ratio increased to 92.1%, compared with 91.0% in the prior year quarter[7,9] - P&C segments, excluding third party captives, generated gross written premium growth of 7% and net written premium growth of 9%[7,9] Investments - Net investment income was $604 million pretax, reflecting a $14 million decrease from limited partnerships and common stock to $54 million, partially offset by a $9 million increase from fixed income securities and other investments to $550 million[7,22,23] - Fixed income securities net investment income is up 4% year-over-year[28] Capital Management - Book value per share excluding AOCI increased 2% from year-end 2024, adjusting for $2.46 of dividends per share paid, reaching $44.58[7,38]

Financial Performance - Net income for Q1 2025 was $274 million, or $1.00 per share, down from $338 million, or $1.24 per share, in the prior year quarter [3]. - Core income for Q1 2025 was $281 million, or $1.03 per share, compared to $355 million, or $1.30 per share, in the prior year quarter [3]. - Core income for Q1 2025 was $6 million, consistent with the prior year quarter, reflecting favorable persistency [23]. - Net investment income for Q1 2025 was $604 million, a decrease of $5 million from the prior year quarter [25]. - Return on equity for Q1 2025 was 10.5%, down from 13.8% in the prior year [48]. Property & Casualty (P&C) Performance - Property & Casualty (P&C) core income decreased to $311 million from $372 million, attributed to lower underwriting results [4]. - P&C gross written premiums grew by 7% to $3.142 billion, while net written premiums increased by 9% to $2.606 billion [12]. - New business in P&C grew by 7% to $565 million in the quarter [9]. - The P&C combined ratio was 98.4%, an increase from 94.6% in the prior year quarter, with catastrophe losses of $97 million [14]. - The underlying combined ratio for P&C increased to 92.1%, up from 91.0% in the prior year quarter [14]. - Catastrophe losses included $53 million for California wildfires, compared to $88 million in the prior year quarter [14]. - The combined ratio increased by 2.1 points compared to the prior year quarter, with catastrophe losses of $11 million contributing 3.6 points to the loss ratio [22]. - Gross written premiums grew by 4% and net written premiums increased by 7% for Q1 2025, excluding currency fluctuations [22]. - The underlying underwriting gain for Q1 2025 was $200 million, compared to $209 million in the prior year [44]. Shareholder Information - Book value per share was $37.98, a decrease from $38.82 at year-end 2024 [7]. - Book value per share excluding AOCI increased by 2% to $44.58 from year-end 2024 [46]. - Stockholders' equity decreased by 2% to $10.3 billion from year-end 2024, primarily due to dividends paid [26]. - The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.46 per share, payable on June 5, 2025 [6]. Forward-Looking Statements - Forward-looking statements indicate that actual results may differ materially from projections due to inherent risks and uncertainties [50]. - CNA does not have an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements even if expectations change [51]. - Descriptions of coverage under CNA policies are for convenience only and should not be relied upon for coverage questions [52].

Financial Performance - Loews Corporation reported net income of $370 million, or $1.74 per share, in Q1 2025, down from $457 million, or $2.05 per share, in Q1 2024 [2][14] - Total revenues increased to $4.494 billion in Q1 2025 from $4.231 billion in Q1 2024, driven by higher insurance premiums and operating revenues [14][16] - Book value per share increased to $89.74 as of March 31, 2025, from $88.18 as of December 31, 2024 [4] Segment Performance - CNA Financial's net income attributable to Loews decreased to $252 million in Q1 2025 from $310 million in Q1 2024, primarily due to lower underwriting income [4][5] - Boardwalk Pipelines reported improved results with net income increasing to $152 million in Q1 2025 from $121 million in Q1 2024, attributed to higher re-contracting rates and growth projects [4][10] - Loews Hotels & Co experienced a decline in net income to $0 million in Q1 2025 from $16 million in Q1 2024, mainly due to lower equity income from joint ventures [10][24] Share Repurchase - The company repurchased 5.1 million shares of its common stock for a total cost of $429 million since December 31, 2024 [1][4] - During Q1 2025, Loews Corporation repurchased 4.5 million shares for $376 million, with an additional 0.6 million shares repurchased for $53 million between April 1, 2025, and May 2, 2025 [10][4] Investment and Debt Position - As of March 31, 2025, the parent company had $3.5 billion in cash and investments and $1.8 billion in debt [4] - Net investment income decreased year-over-year due to unfavorable changes in the fair value of equity-based investments [4][10]

Core Insights - CNA Financial Corporation reported a first quarter 2025 net income of $274 million, or $1.00 per share, down from $338 million, or $1.24 per share, in the prior year quarter [1][6] - Core income for the quarter was $281 million, or $1.03 per share, compared to $355 million, or $1.30 per share, in the prior year quarter [1][6] - The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, payable on June 5, 2025 [4] Property & Casualty Segment - The Property & Casualty (P&C) segment produced core income of $311 million, a decrease of $61 million from the prior year quarter, attributed to lower underwriting results, partially offset by higher net investment income [2][6] - P&C segments, excluding third-party captives, achieved gross written premium growth of 7% and net written premium growth of 9%, driven by an 86% retention rate and a renewal premium change of +6% [2][10] - The P&C combined ratio was 98.4%, up from 94.6% in the prior year quarter, including a 3.8-point impact from catastrophe losses [6][8] Life & Group Segment - The Life & Group segment generated core income of $6 million for the first quarter of 2025, slightly up from $5 million in the prior year quarter [3][22] Corporate & Other Segment - The Corporate & Other segment reported a core loss of $36 million, compared to a loss of $22 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to a $17 million after-tax charge related to legacy mass tort claims [3][23] Investment Income - Net investment income for the quarter was $604 million, reflecting a $5 million decrease from the prior year, with a notable decline in limited partnership and common stock returns [6][24] Book Value and Equity - Book value per share was $37.98, down from $38.82 at year-end 2024, while book value per share excluding AOCI was $44.58, a 2% increase from year-end 2024 [25][46][47] - Stockholders' equity decreased by 2% from year-end 2024 to $10.3 billion, primarily due to dividends paid [25]

Company Overview - CNA Financial (CNA) is expected to report a year-over-year decline in earnings of 10.8%, with earnings projected at $1.16 per share and revenues at $3.07 billion, reflecting a slight increase of 0.3% from the previous year [3][10] - The stock's movement will depend on whether the actual results exceed or fall short of these expectations, with the earnings report scheduled for May 5 [2][3] Earnings Estimates and Trends - The consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged over the last 30 days, indicating a stable outlook from covering analysts [4] - The Most Accurate Estimate for CNA Financial is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, resulting in an Earnings ESP of -10.82%, suggesting a bearish sentiment among analysts [10][11] Earnings Surprise History - In the last reported quarter, CNA Financial exceeded expectations by delivering earnings of $1.25 per share against an estimate of $1.11, resulting in a surprise of +12.61% [12] - Over the past four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates two times [13] Industry Context - In comparison, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FRFHF), another player in the insurance industry, is expected to post earnings of $41.08 per share, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 33.3%, with revenues projected at $7.76 billion, up 1% [17] - Fairfax Financial Holdings has also seen a downward revision of its EPS estimate by 19.1% over the last 30 days, resulting in an Earnings ESP of -1.98% [18]