Short Interest in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Declines By 15.2%

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,170,000 shares, a decline of 15.2% from the April 30th total of 2,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 782,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE CNO traded up $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $37.82. 562,874 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 705,514. CNO Financial Group has a twelve month low of $26.36 and a twelve month high of $43.20. The company's 50 day moving average price is $38.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 17.20%. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. CNO Financial Group's payout ratio is 23.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 3,393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $141,725.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,599 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,140.23. This trade represents a 5.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 2,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.56, for a total value of $89,248.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,290,461.76. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,912 shares of company stock valued at $1,125,523 over the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 113.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,141 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,691,000 after acquiring an additional 116,617 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 24,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 9,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CNO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

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.