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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded CNO Financial Group from “hold” to “buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with an average price target of $52.50.
• CNO reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.26 versus the $0.97 estimate and revenue of $1.29 billion, up 11.6% year over year.
• The stock opened at $55.21, near its 52-week high of $57.59, while insiders sold roughly 95,106 shares worth $4.88 million over the past 90 days.

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

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Evercore set a $48.00 target price on CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.50.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 0.5%

CNO opened at $55.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $51.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.06. CNO Financial Group has a one year low of $36.05 and a one year high of $57.59. The stock has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97 and a beta of 0.81.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.02%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.45 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. CNO Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNO Financial Group news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 79,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,959,550. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $4,429,751.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 174,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,971,110.72. This represents a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,106 shares of company stock valued at $4,879,343. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 123.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 75.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 39.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 72.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by 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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