CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.29 EPS

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29, FiscalAI reports. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $999.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. CNO Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:CNO opened at $53.52 on Friday. CNO Financial Group has a 1 year low of $35.24 and a 1 year high of $54.09. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 0.81.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CNO Financial Group

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $4,429,751.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at $8,971,110.72. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 20.5% in 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. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,730,000 after purchasing an additional 319,795 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 32.6% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 764,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,509,000 after purchasing an additional 187,974 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 695,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,519,000 after purchasing an additional 52,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 607,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,443,000 after buying an additional 8,686 shares in the last quarter. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on CNO Financial Group from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Evercore set a $48.00 price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

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.