CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

CNO has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $25.80.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 0.3 %

CNO opened at $27.48 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.99 and a 200 day moving average of $25.91. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.03. CNO Financial Group has a 12 month low of $19.95 and a 12 month high of $28.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $934.05 million. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 17.51%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CNO Financial Group will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 16,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $454,599.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 406,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,983,816. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 16,837 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $454,599.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 406,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,983,816. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Detoro sold 1,282 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $34,614.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 79,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,539. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,040 shares of company stock worth $2,622,223. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 60,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 6,281 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 191.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 36,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 24,066 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 141,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,540,000 after purchasing an additional 39,101 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $1,142,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 7.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 44,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

CNO Financial Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, insurance products, and financial services for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. It offers Medicare supplement, supplemental health, and long-term care insurance policies; life insurance; and annuities, as well as Medicare advantage plans to individuals through phone, online, mail, and face-to-face.