CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $49.86 and traded as high as $54.82. CNO Financial Group shares last traded at $54.0020, with a volume of 888,349 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Capital One Financial set a $70.00 price target on CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.96. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.17.

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

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 24.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Karen DeToro sold 9,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $515,382.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 44,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,432,865. This represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeanne Linnenbringer sold 6,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.99, for a total transaction of $360,734.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 34,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,879,998.12. This represents a 16.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 47,995 shares of company stock worth $2,641,336 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 3.3% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 21.0% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 215,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,426,000 after purchasing an additional 37,413 shares in the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 7.4% in the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

CNO Financial Group, Inc is a holding company that provides insurance and related financial services to middle-income Americans. Through its operating companies, CNO offers products designed to help individuals and families address retirement income, life insurance, health care and long-term financial protection needs.

The company’s primary brands include Bankers Life, which distributes insurance and annuity products through agents; Washington National, which focuses on supplemental health and life insurance; and Colonial Penn, which markets life and supplemental health insurance directly to consumers.