CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

by · The Cerbat Gem

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO – Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.60.

CNO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on CNO Financial Group

Insider Activity

In related news, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 48,665 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.24, for a total value of $2,006,944.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 671,542 shares in the company, valued at $27,694,392.08. The trade was a 6.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO opened at $40.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.94. CNO Financial Group has a one year low of $34.63 and a one year high of $43.20.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 6.41%.The business had revenue of $968.30 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 23.78%.

About CNO Financial Group

(Get Free Report)

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.

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