CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $27.00.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO stock opened at $25.41 on Friday. CNO Financial Group has a one year low of $19.95 and a one year high of $28.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.03.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.33. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 17.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $934.05 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 24.90%.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, EVP Yvonne K. Franzese sold 7,214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $197,880.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,279,115.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 7,325 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total value of $195,211.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 178,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,751,561.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yvonne K. Franzese sold 7,214 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.43, for a total transaction of $197,880.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,279,115.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 152,590 shares of company stock valued at $4,116,255. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 95.8% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.