Insider Selling: CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) CEO Sells $1,852,054.05 in Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) CEO Gary Bhojwani sold 43,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total value of $1,852,054.05. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 277,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,947,494.30. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:CNO opened at $43.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.61 and a 200 day moving average of $40.65. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.63 and a 52-week high of $44.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 0.84.

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

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 29.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 176,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 40,054 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in CNO Financial Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 60,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,531,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 376,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,692,000 after buying an additional 20,728 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 146.4% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 149,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,212,000 after buying an additional 88,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 637.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,243 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.