CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Hits New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $57.59 and last traded at $56.1450, with a volume of 25120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.49.

The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.45 million. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 5.44%.CNO Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNO. Evercore set a $48.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.50.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,959,550. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,971,110.72. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,106 shares of company stock valued at $4,879,343. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,456,000 after acquiring an additional 8,053 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake 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 worth $79,461,000 after acquiring an additional 317,690 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,730,000 after purchasing an additional 319,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 988,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,570,000 after purchasing an additional 57,804 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 4.0%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.82 and a 200 day moving average of $45.53. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17.

About CNO Financial Group

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.