CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $41.58 and last traded at $41.55, with a volume of 407802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.59.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CNO shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 2.4 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.36. The company has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 9.08%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $168,795.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 72,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,734,328.96. This represents a 5.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CIO Eric R. Johnson sold 3,978 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $155,500.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 631,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,698,781.96. The trade was a 0.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,962 shares of company stock valued at $380,717 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 58.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 24,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 9,096 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in CNO Financial Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,899,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,676,000 after purchasing an additional 107,589 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 69.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 39,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 16,420 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 113.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,691,000 after purchasing an additional 116,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. 95.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.