CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO Shares Bought by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) by 32.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,780 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in CNO Financial Group were worth $2,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 353.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 123.1% during 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. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CNO shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $40.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.83. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.63 and a 1-year high of $44.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.05.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 30.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 33,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total value of $1,455,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 307,937 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,687.85. This trade represents a 9.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 43,021 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total value of $1,852,054.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 277,526 shares in the company, valued at $11,947,494.30. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 226,431 shares of company stock valued at $9,715,996. 3.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.