Yvonne Franzese Sells 9,000 Shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) insider Yvonne Franzese sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total value of $388,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 35,062 shares in the company, valued at $1,513,626.54. This represents a 20.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE CNO traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 850,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 687,941. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.84. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.63 and a 1-year high of $44.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.59.

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

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 90.1% in the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 353.0% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $32,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in CNO Financial Group in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.25.

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.