Ethic Inc. Makes New Investment in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)

Ethic Inc. bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CNO. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 113.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,691,000 after buying an additional 116,617 shares in the last quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 21,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 8,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO stock opened at $38.69 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.99. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $26.36 and a one year high of $43.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This is a positive change from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 23.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNO Financial Group

In other news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.11, for a total transaction of $1,022,805.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 169,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,792,307.62. This represents a 13.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 244,943 shares in the company, valued at $10,162,685.07. The trade was a 14.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,512 shares of company stock valued at $6,497,710. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on CNO Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

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.