Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 202,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,018,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 90.1% during the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 353.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 123.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total value of $388,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 35,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,626.54. This represents a 20.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 33,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total transaction of $1,455,090.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 307,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,687.85. The trade was a 9.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 217,148 shares of company stock valued at $9,320,540 in the last three months. 3.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CNO Financial Group stock opened at $39.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 0.83. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.63 and a 1-year high of $44.85.

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

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

About CNO Financial Group

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.