CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.25 EPS

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25, Zacks reports. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 6.06%.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

CNO stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $39.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 579,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,434. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $38.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. CNO Financial Group has a 1 year low of $24.92 and a 1 year high of $40.91.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNO Financial Group

In other news, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 4,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total value of $191,750.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 62,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,490,430.89. This represents a 7.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 3,978 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total value of $155,500.02. Following the sale, the executive now owns 631,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,698,781.96. This represents a 0.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,745 shares of company stock worth $572,467 over the last ninety days. 3.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CNO shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.17.

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.