CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Upgraded to “Overweight” by Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. Piper Sandler currently has $29.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

CNO has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $27.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 1.6 %

CNO stock opened at $25.61 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.15. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 1.03. CNO Financial Group has a 12-month low of $19.95 and a 12-month high of $28.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.33. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $934.05 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Karen Detoro sold 1,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $34,614.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 79,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,539. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Karen Detoro sold 1,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $34,614.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 79,057 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,539. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total transaction of $551,662.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 293,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,023,732.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 152,590 shares of company stock worth $4,116,255. Corporate insiders own 3.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 17,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 66,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 3.6% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 176,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,040,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 18.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CNO Financial Group

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.