Analysts Set CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) PT at $40.50

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One 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. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.50.

CNO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

CNO opened at $41.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 1.02. CNO Financial Group has a 52-week low of $24.92 and a 52-week high of $42.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.22.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 17.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $1,020,510.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 169,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,777,066.84. This represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $1,636,080.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 204,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,186,134.30. This represents a 16.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 132,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,372,187. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,285,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,474,000 after buying an additional 130,342 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,687,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,015,000 after buying an additional 282,611 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,899,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,676,000 after buying an additional 107,589 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 41.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,274,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,419,000 after buying an additional 372,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,040,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,526,000 after acquiring an additional 232,631 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.