Ethic Inc. Makes New Investment in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 95.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 855 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CNO traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.18. The stock had a trading volume of 498,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,553. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.90. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.36 and a twelve month high of $43.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.05.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 17.20%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. CNO Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.78%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $1,020,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 169,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,777,066.84. This trade represents a 13.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 11,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total transaction of $469,063.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,710,561.49. This trade represents a 14.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,912 shares of company stock valued at $3,168,838 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNO has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

CNO Financial Group Profile

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.