Analysts Set CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) PT at $52.50

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore set a $48.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price target on CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 0.1%

CNO opened at $55.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17. CNO Financial Group has a 12 month low of $38.22 and a 12 month high of $57.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.43.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $999.45 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the chief marketing officer 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $4,429,751.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,971,110.72. This represents a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343 over the last quarter. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $682,433,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 4,851.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,354,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,995,000 after acquiring an additional 5,246,791 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,456,000 after acquiring an additional 8,053 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,870,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,461,000 after acquiring an additional 317,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,492,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,282,000 after acquiring an additional 114,000 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Company 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.