Insider Selling: CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Insider Sells 3,919 Shares

Key Points

• CNO Financial Group insider Jeanne Linnenbringer sold 3,919 shares at an average price of $55.11, totaling approximately $215,976. The transaction, conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reduced her holdings by 13.01% to 26,209 shares.
• CNO shares traded at $55.33, near their 52-week high of $57.59. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.26 in EPS versus the $0.97 consensus and 11.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18, equivalent to $0.72 annually and a 1.3% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $56.00.

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) insider Jeanne Linnenbringer sold 3,919 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.11, for a total transaction of $215,976.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,209 shares in the company, valued at $1,444,377.99. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

CNO stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.33. 672,027 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 722,595. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.59. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.22 and a 52 week high of $57.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a $0.18 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 24.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 123.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 75.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 39.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CNO shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Evercore set a $48.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

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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