Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $1.68 Million Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought 32,932 shares of CNO Financial Group worth approximately $1.68 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.43% of the company.
• CNO reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.26 beating estimates of $0.97 and revenue rising 11.6% year over year to $1.29 billion.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $56, while CNO announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, yielding about 1.3%.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 32,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,679,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $682,433,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $101,456,000 after acquiring an additional 8,053 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,870,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,461,000 after acquiring an additional 317,690 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 8.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,492,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,282,000 after acquiring an additional 114,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,730,000 after acquiring an additional 319,795 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CNO. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $48.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CNO stock opened at $56.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The business's 50 day moving average is $53.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.96. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.22 and a twelve month high of $57.59.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $999.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $4,429,751.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 174,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,971,110.72. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 Karen J. Detoro sold 9,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $515,382.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 44,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,432,865. This trade represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 134,319 shares of company stock worth $7,033,335 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company's stock.

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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