CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $43.56 and last traded at $42.8350, with a volume of 1915030 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.86.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 6.64%.The business had revenue of $968.30 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.78%.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other news, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 48,665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total transaction of $2,006,944.60. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 671,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,694,392.08. The trade was a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 9,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 73,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,149,503.20. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $259,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 65.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 178,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,424,000 after buying an additional 70,479 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 19.8% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 2,904 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $632,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,563,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, insurance products, and financial services for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. It offers Medicare supplement, supplemental health, and long-term care insurance policies; life insurance; and annuities, as well as Medicare advantage plans to individuals through phone, online, mail, and face-to-face.