CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on CNO. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $27.00.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $25.21 on Friday. CNO Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $19.95 and a fifty-two week high of $28.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.14.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.33. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 6.67%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $934.05 million. On average, analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.90%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In related news, insider Karen Detoro sold 1,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $34,614.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 79,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,539. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Karen Detoro sold 1,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $34,614.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 79,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,539. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Yvonne K. Franzese sold 7,214 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $197,880.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,279,115.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,590 shares of company stock worth $4,116,255 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNO. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,350,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,038,000 after acquiring an additional 125,047 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 97.8% during the fourth 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 period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $1,257,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,838,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,630,000 after buying an additional 22,012 shares during the period. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $466,000. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

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.