CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• CNO Financial Group shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $54.75 before last trading at about $53.61, compared with a 200-day average of $49.30.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $56.00; recommendations range from Buy to Hold, with targets as high as $70.00.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.26, well above the $0.97 estimate, while revenue increased 11.6% year over year. CNO also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, yielding approximately 1.3%.

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $49.30 and traded as high as $54.75. CNO Financial Group shares last traded at $53.6110, with a volume of 614,664 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 target price 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 research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Evercore set a $48.00 target price on CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $54.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42 and a beta of 0.80.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $999.45 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. CNO Financial Group's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeremy Williams sold 4,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $244,293.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 62,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,435,749.01. The trade was a 6.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen DeToro sold 9,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $515,382.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 44,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,432,865. This represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,995 shares of company stock worth $2,641,336. Insiders own 3.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNO. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 38.4% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 713 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in 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. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 75.4% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. Through its operating companies, CNO provides insurance and related financial products designed primarily for middle-income Americans, including individuals and families approaching or living in retirement.

CNO's businesses include Bankers Life, which offers life insurance, annuities and long-term care products through agents; Colonial Penn, which markets life insurance directly to consumers; and Washington National, which provides supplemental health and life insurance products.

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