CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.80 EPS

Key Points

• CNO Financial Group beat quarterly expectations: The company reported EPS of $1.90, exceeding the $1.10 consensus by $0.80, while revenue reached $1.09 billion versus the $1.01 billion estimate.
• Shares rose 1.6% to $55.22 following the results. Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $56.00.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.72 payout and a 1.3% yield; insiders have sold 47,995 shares worth approximately $2.64 million over the past 90 days.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.80, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 18.76%.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:CNO traded up $0.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $55.22. The stock had a trading volume of 651,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,310. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $54.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 0.80. CNO Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $38.99 and a fifty-two week high of $57.59.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. CNO Financial Group's payout ratio is 24.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CNO. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price objective on CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded CNO Financial Group from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded CNO Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Jeremy D. Williams sold 4,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $244,293.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 62,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,435,749.01. This trade represents a 6.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 6,560 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.99, for a total value of $360,734.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 34,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,879,998.12. This trade represents a 16.10% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 47,995 shares of company stock valued at $2,641,336. Company insiders own 3.44% of the company's stock.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

CNO Financial Group, Inc is a holding company for a group of insurance and financial services businesses focused on serving middle-income Americans, particularly individuals approaching or in retirement. Through its operating companies, CNO provides products designed to help customers protect income, manage health care expenses and prepare for retirement.

CNO's principal brands include Bankers Life, Colonial Penn and Washington National. Its offerings include life insurance, annuities, supplemental health insurance, Medicare supplement insurance and other insurance products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.