CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.50.

CNO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised CNO Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $48.00 target price on CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other news, 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 directly owned 79,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,959,550. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $4,429,751.04. Following the completion of 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 position. 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 valued at $4,879,343 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 123.1% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 75.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised 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 valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 1.5%

CNO stock traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $54.33. 31,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 707,363. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67 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. CNO Financial Group has a 1-year low of $38.22 and a 1-year high of $57.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.01.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $999.45 million. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. 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 currently 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.