Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Stock

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) had its price objective upped by analysts at Piper Sandler from $46.00 to $49.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.40% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CNO. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on CNO Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNO traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.74. The company had a trading volume of 47,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,407. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. CNO Financial Group has a 1 year low of $24.92 and a 1 year high of $43.20. The company has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.23.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,692,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 244,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,162,685.07. This represents a 14.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 2,013 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.18, for a total value of $84,908.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,994 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,606.92. This represents a 6.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,819 shares of company stock valued at $5,886,922. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNO. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 368.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 137.8% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 193.2% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by 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.