Short Interest in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Increases By 28.2%

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,590,000 shares, an increase of 28.2% from the May 15th total of 2,020,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 754,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 16,837 shares of the firm’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 $454,599.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 406,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,983,816. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 16,837 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $454,599.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 406,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,983,816. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael E. Mead sold 5,013 shares of the company’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 directly owns 36,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,053,659.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 127,241 shares of company stock valued at $3,498,490. Insiders own 3.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $52,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of CNO Financial Group stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Monday, reaching $27.11. 178,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 747,360. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.31 and its 200 day moving average is $27.15. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 1.05. CNO Financial Group has a 1 year low of $22.06 and a 1 year high of $29.09.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $935.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CNO Financial Group will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is an increase from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.66%.

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.