FJ Capital Management LLC Takes Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

FJ Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 25,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.00.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.72. 738,298 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 711,766. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.36 and a 12 month high of $43.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.88. 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 $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.90.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from CNO Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. CNO Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 23.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.11, for a total value of $1,022,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 169,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,792,307.62. This represents a 13.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 2,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.18, for a total transaction of $84,908.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,606.92. This represents a 6.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,512 shares of company stock valued at $6,497,710 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

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.