CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on CNO to $50 (from $46) and maintained a "market perform" rating, implying about a 9.4% upside from current levels.
• CNO beat quarterly EPS estimates with $1.47 (vs. $1.20) and reported 4.2% year-over-year revenue growth, while the consensus analyst rating is a Hold with a $47.50 price target.
• Insiders have sold roughly 196,778 shares (about $8.44M) in the past 90 days, even as institutional investors own approximately 95.4% of the stock.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $46.00 to $50.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price suggests a potential upside of 9.41% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Evercore reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CNO traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.70. The company had a trading volume of 285,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 646,274. The business's 50 day moving average price is $41.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.67. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. CNO Financial Group has a 1-year low of $35.24 and a 1-year high of $45.90.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 5.44%.The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total transaction of $388,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 33,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total value of $1,455,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 307,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,687.85. The trade was a 9.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 196,778 shares of company stock valued at $8,442,863. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNO. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 29.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 176,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 40,054 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 60,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,531,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 376,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,692,000 after acquiring an additional 20,728 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 146.4% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 149,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,212,000 after acquiring an additional 88,619 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 637.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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