CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Short Interest Down 19.3% in February

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, a decrease of 19.3% from the February 13th total of 2,280,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 598,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on CNO Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

CNO traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $41.28. The stock had a trading volume of 943,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,685. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.02. CNO Financial Group has a 1 year low of $24.92 and a 1 year high of $42.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.67.

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

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 17.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNO Financial Group

In other news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 204,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,186,134.30. This trade represents a 16.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 169,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,066.84. The trade was a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 132,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,372,187. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNO. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 236.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 922,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,323,000 after acquiring an additional 648,591 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $15,093,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,270,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in CNO Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $13,975,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 372,701 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.