Davis Asset Management L.P. Makes New $32.02 Million Investment in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Davis Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 950,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,024,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 39.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 36,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 90,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,856,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CNO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore set a $48.00 target price on CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $4,429,751.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at $8,971,110.72. This represents a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 79,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,959,550. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $53.40 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.98. The firm has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 0.81. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.22 and a 52 week high of $57.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. CNO Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 24.74%.

CNO Financial Group Profile

CNO Financial Group is an Indiana‐based holding company that offers a range of insurance and retirement solutions through its operating subsidiaries. Its primary business activities include life insurance, annuities, and supplemental health insurance products designed to help individuals plan for retirement and manage health‐related expenses. The company serves middle‐income Americans, with particular emphasis on senior customers seeking guaranteed coverage and reliable income streams.

Originally founded as Conseco in 1979, the company underwent a financial restructuring and rebranded as CNO Financial Group in 2010.