CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $42.71 and last traded at $42.62, with a volume of 34706 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.83.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. Research analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.11, for a total transaction of $1,022,805.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 169,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,792,307.62. The trade was a 13.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,692,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 244,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,162,685.07. This trade represents a 14.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 132,600 shares of company stock worth $5,372,187 in the last 90 days. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 52.5% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 8,815 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 78.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 129,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,560,000 after acquiring an additional 56,932 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 4,178 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 148,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,209,000 after purchasing an additional 52,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $227,000. 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.