CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Short Interest Up 9.6% in October

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,940,000 shares, a growth of 9.6% from the October 15th total of 1,770,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 702,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO stock traded up $0.02 on Monday, hitting $38.97. 296,921 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,757. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 1.01. CNO Financial Group has a 1-year low of $24.92 and a 1-year high of $40.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The company’s fifty day moving average is $35.40 and its 200 day moving average is $31.80.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $945.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other news, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 4,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total transaction of $191,750.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 62,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,490,430.89. The trade was a 7.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 5,435 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $186,203.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,663 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,334.38. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $565,050 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNO. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $579,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 113.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,691,000 after purchasing an additional 116,617 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $418,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 149,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,254,000 after buying an additional 3,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 72.3% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 10,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 4,538 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNO has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on CNO Financial Group from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

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.