CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $31.00, but opened at $32.00. CNO Financial Group shares last traded at $33.60, with a volume of 135,559 shares changing hands.

The financial services provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.33. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 16.77%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $929.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. CNO Financial Group’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This is a positive change from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on CNO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. 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, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 15,021 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $424,343.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $893,010.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.50, for a total transaction of $99,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 81,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,319,330. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 15,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $424,343.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $893,010.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,421 shares of company stock valued at $975,861 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNO. Norges Bank bought a new position in CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,295,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $10,568,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 97.2% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,251,000 after purchasing an additional 306,751 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $4,071,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,226,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,116,000 after purchasing an additional 76,514 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

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 has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.40 and its 200-day moving average is $27.48.

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.