CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on CNO Financial Group, with three holds and two buys. The average 12-month price target is $56.00, slightly above the reported trading price of $54.85.
• CNO reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.26 versus the $0.97 estimate and revenue of $1.29 billion, up 11.6% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18, equivalent to an annualized $0.72 payout and a 1.3% yield. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the stock, while insiders sold shares totaling about $7.1 million during the last quarter.

Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CNO shares. Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CNO Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price target on CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:CNO traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.85. 161,722 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 740,168. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84 and a beta of 0.80. CNO Financial Group has a twelve month low of $38.22 and a twelve month high of $57.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.41 and a 200 day moving average of $48.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

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

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. CNO Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.74%.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other news, insider Jeanne Linnenbringer sold 3,919 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.11, for a total transaction of $215,976.09. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,444,377.99. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen DeToro sold 5,964 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $328,735.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,009,124. The trade was a 14.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 134,043 shares of company stock worth $7,071,087. 3.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $682,433,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $124,476,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 8.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,492,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,282,000 after acquiring an additional 114,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in CNO Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $50,034,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $44,529,000. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. Through its operating companies, CNO provides insurance and related financial products designed primarily for middle-income Americans, including individuals and families approaching or living in retirement.

CNO's businesses include Bankers Life, which offers life insurance, annuities and long-term care products through agents; Colonial Penn, which markets life insurance directly to consumers; and Washington National, which provides supplemental health and life insurance products.

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