Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires Shares of 299,797 CNO Financial Group, Inc. $CNO

Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 299,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,857,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.31% of CNO Financial Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNO. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 123.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 637.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,243 shares during the period. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on CNO Financial Group from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.75.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO Financial Group stock opened at $41.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.98. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $34.63 and a one year high of $44.19.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.34. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 6.64%.The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. CNO Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 9,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $395,455.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 73,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,149,503.20. This represents a 11.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 31,430 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.99, for a total transaction of $1,319,745.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 195,926 shares in the company, valued at $8,226,932.74. This trade represents a 13.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,378 shares of company stock worth $3,722,146. 3.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.