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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on CNO Financial Group from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CNO Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeremy David Williams sold 4,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 62,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,490,430.89. This trade represents a 7.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 1,484 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $56,421.68. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 79,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,037,645.92. This represents a 1.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,745 shares of company stock worth $572,467. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 123.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in CNO Financial Group by 53.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 141.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of CNO Financial Group by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company's stock.

CNO Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of CNO stock traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $37.21. The company had a trading volume of 443,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 729,192. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 1.02. CNO Financial Group has a twelve month low of $24.92 and a twelve month high of $40.91. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $945.44 million. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 6.06%. CNO Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CNO Financial Group will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.81%.

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.