Analysts Set CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Price Target at $44.80

Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.80.

CNO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 9,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $395,455.80. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 73,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,149,503.20. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 48,665 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total transaction of $2,006,944.60. Following the transaction, the executive owned 671,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,694,392.08. This represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 90.1% in the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 353.0% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 123.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO Financial Group stock opened at $43.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. CNO Financial Group has a 1 year low of $34.63 and a 1 year high of $43.57.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $968.30 million during the quarter. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 6.64%. Equities analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 23.78%.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group is an Indiana‐based holding company that offers a range of insurance and retirement solutions through its operating subsidiaries. Its primary business activities include life insurance, annuities, and supplemental health insurance products designed to help individuals plan for retirement and manage health‐related expenses. The company serves middle‐income Americans, with particular emphasis on senior customers seeking guaranteed coverage and reliable income streams.

Originally founded as Conseco in 1979, the company underwent a financial restructuring and rebranded as CNO Financial Group in 2010.