CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Price Target Raised to $57.00

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) had its target price raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $53.00 to $57.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CNO. Evercore set a $48.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO stock opened at $55.59 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.90. CNO Financial Group has a 52 week low of $35.81 and a 52 week high of $57.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.81.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $999.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CNO Financial Group will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CNO Financial Group news, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 86,048 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $4,429,751.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,971,110.72. This trade represents a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 79,191 shares in the company, valued at $3,959,550. This 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 three months, insiders sold 95,106 shares of company stock worth $4,879,343. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNO. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 29.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 176,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,332,000 after buying an additional 40,054 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 60,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,531,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 376,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,692,000 after acquiring an additional 20,728 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 146.4% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 149,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,212,000 after purchasing an additional 88,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 637.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

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.