CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.75.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CNO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen cut CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO stock opened at $50.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. CNO Financial Group has a 52-week low of $35.24 and a 52-week high of $50.71.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 28.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,959,550. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 11,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.97, for a total value of $442,068.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 214,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,574,524.28. The trade was a 4.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,118 shares of company stock valued at $891,660. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNO. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 176,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 40,054 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 60,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,531,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 376,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,692,000 after purchasing an additional 20,728 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 146.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 149,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,212,000 after purchasing an additional 88,619 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 637.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

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.