CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 3.4%

CNO opened at $39.57 on Friday. CNO Financial Group has a twelve month low of $34.63 and a twelve month high of $44.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.11. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.27. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The company had revenue of $101.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. CNO Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 33,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total value of $1,455,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 307,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,687.85. This represents a 9.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 43,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total value of $1,852,054.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 277,526 shares in the company, valued at $11,947,494.30. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 228,208 shares of company stock worth $9,762,609. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNO. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 102.1% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 45,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 22,749 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 684.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 3,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 17,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

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.