CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Price Target Raised to $44.00 at Piper Sandler

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) had its price objective increased by Piper Sandler from $42.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CNO. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 1.2 %

CNO opened at $36.19 on Wednesday. CNO Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $24.92 and a fifty-two week high of $40.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 1.02. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.51.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $945.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 3,978 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total value of $155,500.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 631,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,698,781.96. This trade represents a 0.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 4,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total value of $191,750.47. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 62,121 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,430.89. This trade represents a 7.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,745 shares of company stock valued at $572,467. 3.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 11,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $579,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake 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 period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $418,000. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.