Contrasting CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) & CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA)

CNA Financial (NYSE:CNA) and CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares CNA Financial and CNO Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CNA Financial	8.16%	11.34%	1.84%
CNO Financial Group	6.02%	18.76%	1.24%

Risk and Volatility

CNA Financial has a beta of 0.27, suggesting that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CNO Financial Group has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for CNA Financial and CNO Financial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CNA Financial	0	1	1	0	2.50
CNO Financial Group	0	3	2	0	2.40

CNO Financial Group has a consensus target price of $56.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.18%. Given CNO Financial Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe CNO Financial Group is more favorable than CNA Financial.

Dividends

CNA Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. CNO Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. CNA Financial pays out 42.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CNO Financial Group pays out 24.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. CNA Financial has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years and CNO Financial Group has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. CNA Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.5% of CNA Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.4% of CNO Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of CNA Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of CNO Financial Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares CNA Financial and CNO Financial Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CNA Financial	$14.99 billion	0.86	$1.28 billion	$4.55	10.45
CNO Financial Group	$4.49 billion	1.13	$229.30 million	$2.91	18.83

CNA Financial has higher revenue and earnings than CNO Financial Group. CNA Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CNO Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

CNA Financial beats CNO Financial Group on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CNA Financial

CNA Financial Corporation provides commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Specialty, Commercial, International, Life & Group, and Corporate & Other segments. The company offers professional liability coverages and risk management services to various professional firms, including architects, real estate agents, and accounting and law firms; directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, and fidelity and cyber coverages to small and mid-size firms, public and privately held firms, and not-for-profit organizations; professional and general liability, as well as associated casualty coverages for healthcare industry; surety and fidelity bonds; and warranty and alternative risks products. It also provides property, marine, boiler, and machinery coverage insurance products; casualty insurance products comprising workers' compensation, general and product liability, commercial auto, umbrella, and excess and surplus coverages; specialized loss-sensitive insurance programs and total risk management services; and run-off long term care policies. The company was founded in 1853 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. CNA Financial Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Loews Corporation.

About CNO Financial Group

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. The company also focuses on sale of voluntary benefit life and health insurance products for businesses, associations, and other membership groups by interacting with customers at their place of employment. In addition, it provides fixed indexed annuities; fixed interest annuities, including fixed rate single and flexible premium deferred annuities; single premium immediate annuities; supplemental health products, such as specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity products; and long-term care plans primarily to retirees and older self-employed individuals in the middle-income market. Further, the company offers universal life and other interest-sensitive life products; and traditional life policies that include whole life, graded benefit life, term life, and single premium whole life products, as well as graded benefit life insurance products. It markets its products under the Bankers Life, Washington National, and Colonial Penn brand names. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.