CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded CNO from a "buy" to a "hold," and the stock's consensus rating is now Hold with a $46.50 average price target (three Buys, one Hold, one Sell among analysts).
• CNO beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.47 vs. $1.20 consensus and reported revenue up 4.2% year‑over‑year, while analysts forecast about 3.83 EPS for the current year.
• Significant insider selling occurred last quarter—228,208 shares (~$9.76M) were sold, including CEO sales of 45,357 shares—and the stock trades around $39.57 with a market cap of $3.73 billion and a P/E of 17.75.

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

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday. Evercore reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded CNO Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 3.4%

CNO stock opened at $39.57 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $41.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. CNO Financial Group has a twelve month low of $34.63 and a twelve month high of $44.85.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.27. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The company had revenue of $101.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNO Financial Group

In other news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 45,357 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total value of $1,958,061.69. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 320,547 shares in the company, valued at $13,838,013.99. The trade was a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total transaction of $388,530.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,062 shares in the company, valued at $1,513,626.54. This represents a 20.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 228,208 shares of company stock valued at $9,762,609. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,302,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $170,157,000 after purchasing an additional 42,467 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,239,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $128,140,000 after buying an additional 118,417 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,870,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,461,000 after buying an additional 317,690 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,730,000 after buying an additional 319,795 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 11.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,903,000 after acquiring an additional 91,417 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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