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

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $44.19 and last traded at $44.0050, with a volume of 23222 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CNO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

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

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.78%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 31,430 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.99, for a total transaction of $1,319,745.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 195,926 shares in the company, valued at $8,226,932.74. The trade was a 13.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 48,665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total transaction of $2,006,944.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive directly owned 671,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,694,392.08. This represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,378 shares of company stock valued at $3,722,146. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 152,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,477,000 after acquiring an additional 4,268 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 16,092 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $5,871,000. Diversified Trust Co. bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $425,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 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.