GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes Position in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 37,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,469,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 366.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 11.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,903,000 after purchasing an additional 91,417 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 8.8% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 55,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 4,471 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $257,000. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other CNO Financial Group news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 30,970 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.93, for a total transaction of $1,329,542.10. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 307,937 shares in the company, valued at $13,219,735.41. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 9,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total value of $395,455.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 73,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,149,503.20. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 71,683 shares of company stock valued at $3,044,744 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.38% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CNO opened at $43.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.18. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.63 and a 1 year high of $44.85.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.27. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 4.94%.The company had revenue of $101.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CNO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.33.

About CNO Financial Group

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.