Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases New Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired 82,400 shares of CNO Financial Group worth approximately $4.2 million, while institutional investors collectively own 95.43% of the company.
• CNO reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $1.26 per share versus the $0.97 consensus estimate and revenue up 11.6% year over year to $1.29 billion.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $56.00; CNO also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, equating to a 1.3% yield.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 82,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,201,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.09% of CNO Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CNO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $682,433,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $124,476,000. Davis Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,024,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $44,529,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 926.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 795,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,538,000 after acquiring an additional 717,710 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 target price on CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised CNO Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,959,550. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $4,429,751.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at $8,971,110.72. This represents a 33.06% 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. Insiders have sold 95,106 shares of company stock valued at $4,879,343 over the last three months. 3.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 0.1%

CNO Financial Group stock opened at $55.41 on Monday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $38.22 and a one year high of $57.59. The business's fifty day moving average is $53.50 and its 200 day moving average is $47.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.81. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.45 million. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.02%.CNO Financial Group's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. CNO Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 24.74%.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

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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