CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Short Interest Up 27.2% in March

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,340,000 shares, a growth of 27.2% from the February 28th total of 1,840,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 653,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 1.2 %

CNO Financial Group stock opened at $42.47 on Thursday. CNO Financial Group has a one year low of $24.92 and a one year high of $43.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.63 and its 200 day moving average is $38.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 17.20%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total transaction of $1,636,080.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 204,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,186,134.30. The trade was a 16.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Yvonne K. Franzese sold 2,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.56, for a total transaction of $89,248.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,290,461.76. This represents a 6.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,512 shares of company stock worth $6,497,710. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CNO. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

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.