CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Reaches New 1-Year High at $29.17

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $29.17 and last traded at $29.16, with a volume of 24555 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNO has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.60.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.25.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.12). CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.77% and a net margin of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $935.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This is a positive change from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.66%.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 15,021 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $424,343.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $893,010.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 15,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $424,343.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,611 shares in the company, valued at $893,010.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael E. Mead sold 5,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $144,625.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,053,659.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,421 shares of company stock valued at $975,861. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNO. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,226,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,116,000 after purchasing an additional 76,514 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,350,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,038,000 after purchasing an additional 125,047 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,295,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 97.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 587,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,393,000 after purchasing an additional 290,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 461,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,879,000 after purchasing an additional 7,864 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CNO Financial Group

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.