CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $52.06 and last traded at $51.4270, with a volume of 597732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CNO shares. Evercore set a $48.00 target price on CNO Financial Group and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered CNO Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CNO Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.75.

CNO Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.68.

CNO Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from CNO Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is 28.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 5,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 79,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,959,550. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in CNO Financial Group during the third quarter worth $8,018,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 11.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 882,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,903,000 after purchasing an additional 91,417 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in CNO Financial Group by 3.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,239,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,140,000 after purchasing an additional 118,417 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,302,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,157,000 after purchasing an additional 42,467 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 83.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 16,092 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group is an Indiana‐based holding company that offers a range of insurance and retirement solutions through its operating subsidiaries. Its primary business activities include life insurance, annuities, and supplemental health insurance products designed to help individuals plan for retirement and manage health‐related expenses. The company serves middle‐income Americans, with particular emphasis on senior customers seeking guaranteed coverage and reliable income streams.

Originally founded as Conseco in 1979, the company underwent a financial restructuring and rebranded as CNO Financial Group in 2010.