CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the February 13th total of 2,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 598,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO Financial Group stock opened at $41.42 on Tuesday. CNO Financial Group has a one year low of $24.92 and a one year high of $42.41. The company has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.22. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.60.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. On average, research analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.11%.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 4,500 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $168,795.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 72,896 shares in the company, valued at $2,734,328.96. This trade represents a 5.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.11, for a total transaction of $1,022,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 169,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,792,307.62. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,100 shares of company stock worth $5,540,982. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNO. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 368.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 95.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 193.2% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 137.8% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CNO. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on CNO Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up previously from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.50.

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.