CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.60.

A number of brokerages recently commented on CNO. Wall Street Zen cut CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CNO Financial Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE CNO opened at $39.52 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. CNO Financial Group has a 1-year low of $34.63 and a 1-year high of $43.20.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 6.41%.The company had revenue of $968.30 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $3,057,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $11,857,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 43.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 16.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $1,077,000. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.