CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Shares Break Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• CNO Financial Group shares broke above their 200-day moving average, reaching $54.82 and last trading near $54.00, compared with a 200-day average of $49.86.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating with a $56 average price target, although individual targets range as high as $70.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.26 versus the $0.97 estimate and revenue up 11.6% year over year to $1.29 billion. CNO also declared a $0.18 quarterly dividend, equal to a 1.3% yield.

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $49.86 and traded as high as $54.82. CNO Financial Group shares last traded at $54.0020, with a volume of 888,349 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded CNO Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CNO Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50-day moving average price is $54.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17.

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

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. CNO Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.74%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other news, insider Karen 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 44,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,432,865. The trade was a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeanne Linnenbringer sold 6,560 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.99, for a total transaction of $360,734.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,879,998.12. This trade represents a 16.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,995 shares of company stock valued at $2,641,336. 3.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group in the second quarter worth $682,433,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in CNO Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $124,476,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $50,034,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $44,529,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 926.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 795,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,538,000 after purchasing an additional 717,710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company's stock.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

CNO Financial Group, Inc is a holding company that provides insurance and related financial services to middle-income Americans. Through its operating companies, CNO offers products designed to help individuals and families address retirement income, life insurance, health care and long-term financial protection needs.

The company's primary brands include Bankers Life, which distributes insurance and annuity products through agents; Washington National, which focuses on supplemental health and life insurance; and Colonial Penn, which markets life and supplemental health insurance directly to consumers.

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