CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,100,000 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the November 30th total of 1,990,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 656,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

CNO Financial Group stock opened at $37.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.16. CNO Financial Group has a 52 week low of $24.92 and a 52 week high of $40.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last posted 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 net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $945.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Insider Activity

In other CNO Financial Group news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 1,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $56,421.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 79,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,037,645.92. This trade represents a 1.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 4,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total transaction of $191,750.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 62,121 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,430.89. This trade represents a 7.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,745 shares of company stock worth $572,467. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $852,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 6,446.1% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 9,089 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 637,254 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $151,000. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $379,000. 95.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.