Brokerages Set CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) PT at $40.50

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.50.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CNO shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of CNO Financial Group stock opened at $40.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 1.04. CNO Financial Group has a 1-year low of $24.92 and a 1-year high of $42.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.89.

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

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNO Financial Group news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total transaction of $1,636,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 204,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,186,134.30. The trade was a 16.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 1,484 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $56,421.68. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 79,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,037,645.92. This represents a 1.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 87,584 shares of company stock valued at $3,554,089. Company insiders own 3.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.