CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Short Interest Down 19.3% in February

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, a decrease of 19.3% from the February 13th total of 2,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CNO Financial Group news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total transaction of $1,020,510.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 169,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,777,066.84. This represents a 13.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $1,636,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 132,600 shares of company stock worth $5,372,187. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CNO Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 24,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 9,096 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in CNO Financial Group by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $903,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:CNO opened at $41.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.67. CNO Financial Group has a 52 week low of $24.92 and a 52 week high of $42.41.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.16 dividend. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CNO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on CNO Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

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.