CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.25.

CNO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 45,357 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total value of $1,958,061.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 320,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,838,013.99. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 9,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $395,455.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 226,431 shares of company stock valued at $9,715,996. Corporate insiders own 3.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNO. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $18,297,000. Jain Global LLC purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $17,996,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 190.3% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 579,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,925,000 after purchasing an additional 379,984 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 384.9% in the third quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 438,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,355,000 after purchasing an additional 348,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,730,000 after purchasing an additional 319,795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CNO Financial Group stock opened at $41.78 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.88. CNO Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $34.63 and a fifty-two week high of $44.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.27. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The firm had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. CNO Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.49%.

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.