CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Price Target Raised to $45.00

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $40.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on CNO. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CNO stock opened at $40.59 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19. CNO Financial Group has a 1-year low of $24.92 and a 1-year high of $41.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $38.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.32.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 17.21%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 3,978 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total value of $155,500.02. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 631,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,698,781.96. The trade was a 0.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 1,484 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $56,421.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 79,896 shares in the company, valued at $3,037,645.92. This represents a 1.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,962 shares of company stock worth $380,717. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,687,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,015,000 after purchasing an additional 282,611 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,899,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,676,000 after acquiring an additional 107,589 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,274,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,419,000 after acquiring an additional 372,701 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 300.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,199,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,086,000 after acquiring an additional 899,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 28.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,040,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,526,000 after acquiring an additional 232,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

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.