Short Interest in CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Expands By 9.6%

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,940,000 shares, an increase of 9.6% from the October 15th total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 702,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO stock opened at $38.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.88. CNO Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $24.92 and a fifty-two week high of $40.29.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $945.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on CNO Financial Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on CNO Financial Group from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 4,783 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total value of $191,750.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 62,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,490,430.89. This represents a 7.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jeanne L. Linnenbringer sold 5,435 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $186,203.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,334.38. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,582 shares of company stock worth $565,050 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CNO. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,117,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,695,000 after purchasing an additional 343,819 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 300.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,199,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,086,000 after acquiring an additional 899,990 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,040,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,526,000 after acquiring an additional 232,631 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 455.1% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 777,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,546,000 after acquiring an additional 637,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 97.2% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,251,000 after purchasing an additional 306,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.