CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Given New $49.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) had its price objective increased by Piper Sandler from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

CNO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CNO opened at $42.47 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.26. CNO Financial Group has a 12-month low of $24.92 and a 12-month high of $43.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.02.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNO Financial Group

In other news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $1,020,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 169,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,066.84. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,692,792.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 244,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,162,685.07. This represents a 14.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,512 shares of company stock valued at $6,497,710 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 4,178 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $36,526,000 after buying an additional 232,631 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 39,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 16,420 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 16,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 3,914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.