CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $39.92, but opened at $37.35. CNO Financial Group shares last traded at $37.03, with a volume of 123,363 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 2.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.58 and a 200-day moving average of $38.75.

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

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $1,636,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 204,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,186,134.30. This represents a 16.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 11,300 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total transaction of $469,063.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,299 shares in the company, valued at $2,710,561.49. This trade represents a 14.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,512 shares of company stock valued at $6,497,710. Company insiders own 3.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNO. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,285,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $159,474,000 after acquiring an additional 130,342 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,687,861 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,015,000 after purchasing an additional 282,611 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,899,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,676,000 after purchasing an additional 107,589 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,274,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,419,000 after buying an additional 372,701 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 236.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 922,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,323,000 after buying an additional 648,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company's stock.

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.