Analysts Set CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Target Price at $51.50

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.50.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Finally, Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $4,429,751.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,971,110.72. This trade represents a 33.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,959,550. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,456,000 after buying an additional 8,053 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,870,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,461,000 after acquiring an additional 317,690 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,492,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,282,000 after acquiring an additional 114,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,730,000 after acquiring an additional 319,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 988,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,570,000 after acquiring an additional 57,804 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CNO opened at $55.59 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.90. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. CNO Financial Group has a 1-year low of $35.81 and a 1-year high of $57.59.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.02%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.45 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.74%.

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.