CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.16

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 0.16 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 24th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th.

CNO Financial Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.3% annually over the last three years. CNO Financial Group has a dividend payout ratio of 15.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect CNO Financial Group to earn $4.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.0%.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE CNO opened at $39.65 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.38 and its 200-day moving average is $37.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.02. CNO Financial Group has a 12-month low of $24.92 and a 12-month high of $42.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 17.20%. Sell-side analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 40,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.49, for a total value of $1,692,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 244,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,162,685.07. This represents a 14.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 25,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.11, for a total transaction of $1,022,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 169,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,792,307.62. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 138,584 shares of company stock worth $5,597,404 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CNO. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (up previously from $44.00) on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

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.