CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Evercore set a $48.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.50.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CNO Financial Group stock opened at $55.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.20. CNO Financial Group has a one year low of $36.68 and a one 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.45 million. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.02%.CNO Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Equities analysts expect that CNO Financial Group will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 24.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the sale, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 CNO Financial Group 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343 in the last ninety days. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 123.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 75.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 39.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 72.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

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.