CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO Stock: VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Boosts Position

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 227.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,900 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $1,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth $682,433,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $124,476,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 8.3% during 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 buying an additional 114,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 6.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 988,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,570,000 after buying an additional 57,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group in the second quarter worth $44,529,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CNO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on 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. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Zacks Research upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut CNO Financial Group from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Karen J. Detoro sold 5,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total value of $328,735.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,009,124. This represents a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 3,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.11, for a total value of $215,976.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,444,377.99. This trade represents a 13.01% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 47,995 shares of company stock worth $2,641,336. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO stock opened at $56.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.99 and a 1 year high of $59.15. The firm has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.78.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.80. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

CNO Financial Group, Inc is a holding company for a group of insurance and financial services businesses focused on serving middle-income Americans, particularly individuals approaching or in retirement. Through its operating companies, CNO provides products designed to help customers protect income, manage health care expenses and prepare for retirement.

CNO’s principal brands include Bankers Life, Colonial Penn and Washington National. Its offerings include life insurance, annuities, supplemental health insurance, Medicare supplement insurance and other insurance products.