CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• CNO Financial Group's stock rating has been upgraded from "hold" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased analyst confidence.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $43.40, and it traded up 0.9% hitting $39.56.
• Insider Michael E. Mead sold 12,581 shares recently, decreasing their ownership by 44.44%, while institutional investors continue to increase their stakes in the company.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.40.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of CNO stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 424,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 861,536. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $38.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.39. CNO Financial Group has a 52 week low of $33.85 and a 52 week high of $43.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.90.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 6.41%.The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $971.25 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Michael E. Mead sold 12,581 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.97, for a total value of $477,700.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at $597,230.13. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 21.1% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $716,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 78,956 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 100.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 11,666 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 3,719 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.