Piper Sandler Raises CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Price Target to $31.00

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) had its target price lifted by Piper Sandler from $29.00 to $31.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 12.52% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO opened at $27.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.19. CNO Financial Group has a 1 year low of $22.27 and a 1 year high of $29.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.12). CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 16.77%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $935.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total transaction of $551,662.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 293,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,023,732.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Michael E. Mead sold 5,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $144,625.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,053,659.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $551,662.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 293,802 shares in the company, valued at $8,023,732.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,065 shares of company stock valued at $1,675,109 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $52,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 18.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

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.