CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Reaches New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $36.85 and last traded at $36.85, with a volume of 126432 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.40.

The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $945.44 million. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 9.96%. The business’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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 boosted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on CNO Financial Group from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 5,435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $186,203.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,334.38. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 5,364 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total value of $187,096.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,565,553.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 5,435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $186,203.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,334.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 19.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,117,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,695,000 after purchasing an additional 343,819 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 300.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,199,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,086,000 after acquiring an additional 899,990 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 455.1% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 777,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,546,000 after purchasing an additional 637,254 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 97.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,251,000 after purchasing an additional 306,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 587,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,276,000 after purchasing an additional 45,428 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

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.