CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Receives $48.75 Average PT from Analysts

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.75.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 11,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.97, for a total transaction of $442,068.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 214,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,574,524.28. The trade was a 4.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,959,550. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,118 shares of company stock worth $891,660. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNO. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $1,469,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $8,018,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,903,000 after acquiring an additional 91,417 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 3.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,239,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,140,000 after acquiring an additional 118,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,302,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $170,157,000 after acquiring an additional 42,467 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:CNO opened at $50.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.22. CNO Financial Group has a 12-month low of $35.24 and a 12-month high of $51.22.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.92%.

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.