Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Invests $8.02 Million in CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 202,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,018,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.21% of CNO Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 384.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 438,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,355,000 after purchasing an additional 348,300 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the third quarter worth $11,857,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth $10,651,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 70.9% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 539,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,804,000 after buying an additional 223,633 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 32.6% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 764,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,509,000 after buying an additional 187,974 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CNO shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.25.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $39.84 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.07. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.63 and a 1 year high of $44.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.27. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The company had revenue of $101.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNO Financial Group news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 45,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total transaction of $1,958,061.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 320,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,838,013.99. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 33,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total value of $1,455,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 307,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,687.85. The trade was a 9.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 217,148 shares of company stock valued at $9,320,540. 3.38% of the stock is 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.