CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Rating Increased to Overweight at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $29.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com cut CNO Financial Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $27.50.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO Financial Group stock opened at $26.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 1.03. CNO Financial Group has a 52-week low of $19.95 and a 52-week high of $28.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $934.05 million. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 6.67%. On average, equities analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 24.90%.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, EVP Yvonne K. Franzese sold 7,214 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $197,880.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,279,115.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 18,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.52, for a total transaction of $514,403.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 314,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,641,335.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yvonne K. Franzese sold 7,214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total value of $197,880.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,279,115.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 152,590 shares of company stock valued at $4,116,255. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 17,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 66,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 176,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,040,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Uncommon Cents Investing LLC increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 17,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

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.