CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Insider Sells 4,420 Shares

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) insider Jeremy Williams sold 4,420 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total value of $244,293.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,435,749.01. This trade represents a 6.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 0.4%

CNO traded down $0.23 on Wednesday, hitting $55.49. 1,335,425 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,348. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.22 and a twelve month high of $57.59. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 0.80.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.02%.The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. CNO Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore set a $48.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 2.1% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 72.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 75.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. Through its operating companies, CNO provides insurance and related financial products designed primarily for middle-income Americans, including individuals and families approaching or living in retirement.

CNO’s businesses include Bankers Life, which offers life insurance, annuities and long-term care products through agents; Colonial Penn, which markets life insurance directly to consumers; and Washington National, which provides supplemental health and life insurance products.