Short Interest in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Decreases By 16.6%

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,210,000 shares, a decrease of 16.6% from the August 15th total of 2,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 755,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

CNO Financial Group Price Performance

CNO traded up $0.62 on Wednesday, hitting $35.12. 244,931 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 744,924. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.25 and its 200 day moving average is $29.01. CNO Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $22.27 and a fifty-two week high of $35.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 1.01.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $929.99 million. CNO Financial Group had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 5,435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $186,203.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,334.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 5,435 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $186,203.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,334.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 5,364 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $187,096.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,884 shares in the company, valued at $1,565,553.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC boosted its stake in CNO Financial Group by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 123.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $52,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $89,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

About CNO Financial Group

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.