CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) CEO Sells $1,958,061.69 in Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) CEO Gary Bhojwani sold 45,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total transaction of $1,958,061.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 320,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,838,013.99. This represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:CNO opened at $43.17 on Friday. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.63 and a 1 year high of $44.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.65. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

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

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNO. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 353.0% in 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 last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

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.