GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 37,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,469,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,121,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,429,000 after purchasing an additional 183,493 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,903,000 after purchasing an additional 91,417 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 32.6% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 764,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,509,000 after buying an additional 187,974 shares in the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 14.0% during the second quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 639,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,689,000 after buying an additional 78,793 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 607,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,443,000 after buying an additional 8,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.33.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $43.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.50 and its 200 day moving average is $40.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 0.84. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.63 and a 1-year high of $44.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 31,430 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.99, for a total value of $1,319,745.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 195,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,226,932.74. The trade was a 13.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 9,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total value of $395,455.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 73,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,149,503.20. This trade represents a 11.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 71,683 shares of company stock valued at $3,044,744 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.38% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

CNO Financial Group is an Indiana?based holding company that offers a range of insurance and retirement solutions through its operating subsidiaries. Its primary business activities include life insurance, annuities, and supplemental health insurance products designed to help individuals plan for retirement and manage health?related expenses. The company serves middle?income Americans, with particular emphasis on senior customers seeking guaranteed coverage and reliable income streams.

Originally founded as Conseco in 1979, the company underwent a financial restructuring and rebranded as CNO Financial Group in 2010.