CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded CNO Financial Group from “buy” to “hold.” Analyst views remain mixed, with MarketBeat reporting a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $56.
• CNO reported quarterly earnings of $1.90 per share, beating the $1.10 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.09 billion also topped forecasts.
• The stock opened at $55.39 and was reported down 1.8%; company insiders sold a combined 47,995 shares worth about $2.64 million over the prior three months.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

CNO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut CNO Financial Group from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 1.8%

CNO stock opened at $55.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. CNO Financial Group has a twelve month low of $38.99 and a twelve month high of $59.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50 day moving average is $54.79 and its 200-day moving average is $48.86.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.80. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 22.64% and a net margin of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CNO Financial Group will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Jeremy D. Williams sold 4,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $244,293.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 62,163 shares in the company, valued at $3,435,749.01. This represents a 6.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 6,560 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.99, for a total transaction of $360,734.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,998.12. This trade represents a 16.10% 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 47,995 shares of company stock worth $2,641,336 in the last three months. 3.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CNO. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 156.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 483 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 713 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth $39,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 72.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

CNO Financial Group, Inc is a holding company for a group of insurance and financial services businesses focused on serving middle-income Americans, particularly individuals approaching or in retirement. Through its operating companies, CNO provides products designed to help customers protect income, manage health care expenses and prepare for retirement.

CNO's principal brands include Bankers Life, Colonial Penn and Washington National. Its offerings include life insurance, annuities, supplemental health insurance, Medicare supplement insurance and other insurance products.

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