CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Upgraded at Piper Sandler

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) was upgraded by Piper Sandler from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $29.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.45% from the company’s current price.

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

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $25.12 on Tuesday. CNO Financial Group has a 1 year low of $19.95 and a 1 year high of $28.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.71 and its 200 day moving average is $26.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other news, CFO Paul H. Mcdonough sold 10,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total value of $285,426.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 192,134 shares in the company, valued at $5,064,652.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 16,837 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $454,599.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 406,808 shares in the company, valued at $10,983,816. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Paul H. Mcdonough sold 10,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.36, for a total transaction of $285,426.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 192,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,064,652.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 152,590 shares of company stock worth $4,116,255. Corporate insiders own 3.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,350,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,038,000 after purchasing an additional 125,047 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 97.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 587,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,393,000 after buying an additional 290,585 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,257,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,838,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,630,000 after buying an additional 22,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $466,000. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

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.