CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Given New $44.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) had its target price increased by Piper Sandler from $42.00 to $44.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $36.19 on Wednesday. CNO Financial Group has a twelve month low of $24.92 and a twelve month high of $40.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $37.59 and its 200-day moving average is $33.51.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.29. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 6.06%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $945.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 1,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total value of $56,421.68. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 79,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,037,645.92. This represents a 1.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 4,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total transaction of $191,750.47. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 62,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,490,430.89. This represents a 7.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,745 shares of company stock valued at $572,467 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CNO. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 64.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 123.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 141.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $89,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

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.