CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

CNO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 9,283 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total value of $395,455.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 73,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,149,503.20. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 31,430 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.99, for a total transaction of $1,319,745.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 195,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,226,932.74. The trade was a 13.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 89,378 shares of company stock valued at $3,722,146 over the last ninety days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,302,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,157,000 after acquiring an additional 42,467 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,239,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,140,000 after acquiring an additional 118,417 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 70.9% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,546,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,673,000 after purchasing an additional 641,950 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 72.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,333,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,641,000 after purchasing an additional 561,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 898,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,525,000 after purchasing an additional 66,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CNO stock opened at $43.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.85. CNO Financial Group has a one year low of $34.63 and a one year high of $44.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 6.64%.The firm had revenue of $968.30 million during the quarter. On average, analysts expect that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.78%.

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.