Reviewing CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) & CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA)

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) and CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

CNO Financial Group has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CNA Financial has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares CNO Financial Group and CNA Financial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CNO Financial Group	$4.49 billion	1.13	$229.30 million	$2.91	18.83
CNA Financial	$14.99 billion	0.86	$1.28 billion	$4.55	10.45

CNA Financial has higher revenue and earnings than CNO Financial Group. CNA Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CNO Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

CNO Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. CNA Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. CNO Financial Group pays out 24.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CNA Financial pays out 42.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. CNO Financial Group has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and CNA Financial has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. CNA Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares CNO Financial Group and CNA Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CNO Financial Group	6.02%	18.76%	1.24%
CNA Financial	8.16%	11.34%	1.84%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.4% of CNO Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.5% of CNA Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of CNO Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of CNA Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for CNO Financial Group and CNA Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CNO Financial Group	0	3	2	0	2.40
CNA Financial	0	1	1	0	2.50

CNO Financial Group presently has a consensus target price of $56.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.18%. Given CNO Financial Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CNO Financial Group is more favorable than CNA Financial.

Summary

CNA Financial beats CNO Financial Group on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, insurance products, and financial services for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. It offers Medicare supplement, supplemental health, and long-term care insurance policies; life insurance; and annuities, as well as Medicare advantage plans to individuals through phone, online, mail, and face-to-face. The company also focuses on sale of voluntary benefit life and health insurance products for businesses, associations, and other membership groups by interacting with customers at their place of employment. In addition, it provides fixed indexed annuities; fixed interest annuities, including fixed rate single and flexible premium deferred annuities; single premium immediate annuities; supplemental health products, such as specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity products; and long-term care plans primarily to retirees and older self-employed individuals in the middle-income market. Further, the company offers universal life and other interest-sensitive life products; and traditional life policies that include whole life, graded benefit life, term life, and single premium whole life products, as well as graded benefit life insurance products. It markets its products under the Bankers Life, Washington National, and Colonial Penn brand names. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

About CNA Financial

CNA Financial Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Specialty, Commercial, International, Life & Group, and Corporate & Other segments. The company offers professional liability coverages and risk management services to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, and accounting and law firms; directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, and fidelity and cyber coverages to small and mid-size firms, public and privately held firms, and not-for-profit organizations; professional and general liability, as well as associated casualty coverages for healthcare industry; surety and fidelity bonds; and warranty and alternative risks products. It also provides property, marine, boiler, and machinery coverage insurance products; casualty insurance products comprising workers' compensation, general and product liability, commercial auto, umbrella, and excess and surplus coverages; specialized loss-sensitive insurance programs and total risk management services; and run-off long term care policies. The company was founded in 1853 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. CNA Financial Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Loews Corporation.