Research Analysts Set Expectations for CNO FY2026 Earnings

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) – Equities researchers at DOWLING & PARTN dropped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, July 13th. DOWLING & PARTN analyst J. Hurwitz now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $4.40 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $4.45. The consensus estimate for CNO Financial Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.46 per share. DOWLING & PARTN also issued estimates for CNO Financial Group’s FY2027 earnings at $4.95 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $5.45 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Evercore set a $48.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.50.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $52.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.68. CNO Financial Group has a 52 week low of $35.24 and a 52 week high of $53.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 28.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $4,429,751.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,971,110.72. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 transaction of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,959,550. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,456,000 after purchasing an additional 8,053 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,870,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,461,000 after buying an additional 317,690 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 8.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,492,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,282,000 after acquiring an additional 114,000 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,730,000 after acquiring an additional 319,795 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 6.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 988,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,570,000 after acquiring an additional 57,804 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.