Jeanne Linnenbringer Sells 6,560 Shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Stock

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) insider Jeanne Linnenbringer sold 6,560 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.99, for a total value of $360,734.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,879,998.12. The trade was a 16.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 1.4%

CNO stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.33. The stock had a trading volume of 672,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 722,595. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.80. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $38.22 and a one year high of $57.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.59.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.02%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 72.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 75.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 123.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 39.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on CNO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $70.00 target price on CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group is an Indiana?based holding company that offers a range of insurance and retirement solutions through its operating subsidiaries. Its primary business activities include life insurance, annuities, and supplemental health insurance products designed to help individuals plan for retirement and manage health?related expenses. The company serves middle?income Americans, with particular emphasis on senior customers seeking guaranteed coverage and reliable income streams.

Originally founded as Conseco in 1979, the company underwent a financial restructuring and rebranded as CNO Financial Group in 2010.