Piper Sandler Upgrades CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) to Overweight

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $29.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price indicates a potential upside of 15.45% from the stock’s previous close.

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

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of CNO opened at $25.12 on Tuesday. CNO Financial Group has a one year low of $19.95 and a one year high of $28.39. The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.03. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.15.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 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 business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $934.05 million. Research analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Karen Detoro sold 1,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $34,614.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 79,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,134,539. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total value of $82,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 88,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,422,117.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Detoro sold 1,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $34,614.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 79,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,134,539. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,590 shares of company stock valued at $4,116,255 over the last 90 days. 3.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 17,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 66,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 3.6% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 176,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,040,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 18.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

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.