CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, a decline of 19.3% from the February 13th total of 2,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 598,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CNO shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (up from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on CNO Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

CNO Financial Group Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE CNO opened at $41.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.60. CNO Financial Group has a 1 year low of $24.92 and a 1 year high of $42.41.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.20% and a net margin of 9.08%. On average, analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $1,636,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 204,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,186,134.30. The trade was a 16.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 4,500 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $168,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 72,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,734,328.96. The trade was a 5.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,100 shares of company stock valued at $5,540,982. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,093,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $896,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 29,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 5,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CSS LLC IL purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $637,000. 95.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.