Matthew Zimpfer Sells 33,800 Shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) General Counsel Matthew Zimpfer sold 33,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total value of $1,455,090.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 307,937 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,687.85. The trade was a 9.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 1.2%

CNO stock opened at $42.53 on Friday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.63 and a 52 week high of $44.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.17.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.27. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The firm had revenue of $101.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 494,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,012,000 after buying an additional 15,864 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in CNO Financial Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 111,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,752,000 after acquiring an additional 6,473 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $562,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 21,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,708,000. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.25.

Key CNO Financial Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting CNO Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A company survey from CNO highlights declining retirement confidence among middle‑income Americans — a trend that could boost demand for CNO’s retirement, annuity and supplemental‑health products over time. PR Newswire: Retirement Confidence Survey
• Positive Sentiment: CNO recently declared a quarterly cash dividend ($0.17/share; ex‑dividend March 10, payable March 24), which supports income investors and modestly underpins the stock’s valuation. Market news: Dividend and company summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent analyst/commentary pieces are encouraging investors to “reassess” CNO after its multi‑year run; such coverage can prompt portfolio rebalancing (either buys or sells) but doesn’t provide company‑specific catalysts. Yahoo: Is It Time To Reassess CNO?
• Neutral Sentiment: Options markets are showing rising implied volatility for CNO, indicating heavier short‑term trading and greater uncertainty — this amplifies price swings but does not by itself determine direction. MSN: Implied Volatility Surging
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by senior executives: CEO Gary Bhojwani, the general counsel and other officers sold large blocks of shares on Feb. 17–18 (multiple Form 4 filings show combined sales of many tens of thousands of shares at roughly $43/share). Large, concentrated insider exits are often viewed negatively by the market and are the most likely proximate cause of today’s pullback. SEC Form 4(s): Executive Sales

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

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.