Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,378,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 275,962 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.42% of CNO Financial Group worth $54,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 176,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,332,000 after buying an additional 40,054 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 60,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,531,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 5.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 376,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,692,000 after acquiring an additional 20,728 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 146.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 149,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,212,000 after acquiring an additional 88,619 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 637.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 31,430 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.99, for a total transaction of $1,319,745.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 195,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,226,932.74. The trade was a 13.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 48,665 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total value of $2,006,944.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 671,542 shares in the company, valued at $27,694,392.08. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 89,378 shares of company stock worth $3,722,146. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

CNO Financial Group stock opened at $42.51 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.16. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.63 and a 1-year high of $44.19. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.34. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 6.64%.The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. CNO Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CNO. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

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.