CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $49.95 and last traded at $49.6760, with a volume of 652199 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $48.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CNO. Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on CNO Financial Group and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.40 and a 200 day moving average of $43.07.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This is an increase from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 11,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.97, for a total transaction of $442,068.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 214,524 shares in the company, valued at $8,574,524.28. This trade represents a 4.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,959,550. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,118 shares of company stock valued at $891,660. 3.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,302,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $170,157,000 after purchasing an additional 42,467 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,239,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,140,000 after purchasing an additional 118,417 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,470,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,456,000 after purchasing an additional 8,053 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,870,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,461,000 after purchasing an additional 317,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in CNO Financial Group by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,492,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,282,000 after purchasing an additional 114,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Company Profile

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.