CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $53.67 and last traded at $53.6280, with a volume of 28014 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $52.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CNO. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Evercore set a $48.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen cut CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 1.6%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.39 and a 200 day moving average of $44.75. The company has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 28.92%.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 79,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,959,550. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $4,429,751.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,971,110.72. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343 over the last ninety days. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,903,000 after purchasing an additional 91,417 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $1,125,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 16,092 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 16.5% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 441,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,450,000 after purchasing an additional 62,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 102.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 45,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 22,749 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.