CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Short Interest Update

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,380,000 shares, an increase of 7.7% from the April 15th total of 2,210,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 797,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of CNO traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $28.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 447,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 746,350. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.67. CNO Financial Group has a twelve month low of $21.27 and a twelve month high of $28.89.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $935.76 million. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 16.77%. The company's revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This is an increase from CNO Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. CNO Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNO Financial Group news, EVP Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 3,220 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total value of $86,167.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 278,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,465,959.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $551,662.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 293,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,023,732.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 3,220 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.76, for a total value of $86,167.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 278,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,465,959.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 174,308 shares of company stock valued at $4,729,864 in the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,226,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,116,000 after purchasing an additional 76,514 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,189,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,964,000 after purchasing an additional 266,945 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,838,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,630,000 after buying an additional 22,012 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,350,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,038,000 after buying an additional 125,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,295,000. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CNO Financial Group

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.