CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO – Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

CNO has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $25.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $20.98 on Thursday. CNO Financial Group has a 1 year low of $16.56 and a 1 year high of $26.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.13. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56. The firm had revenue of $973.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $910.10 million. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 11.09%. CNO Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.62%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In related news, EVP Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 4,188 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.03, for a total transaction of $109,013.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,806,090.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 4,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.03, for a total transaction of $109,013.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,806,090.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 3,308 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total value of $85,511.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,673,513.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,591 shares of company stock valued at $627,713. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group in the third quarter worth $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 365.6% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 250.3% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

About CNO Financial Group

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CNO Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company, which engages in developing, marketing, and administering health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance and other insurance products. It operates through the following segments: Bankers Life, Washington National, and Colonial Penn. The Bankers Life segment markets and distributes medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive life insurance, traditional life insurance, fixed annuities and long-term care insurance products to the middle-income senior market through a dedicated field force of career agents and sales managers supported by a network of community-based sales offices.