CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of 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. Based on an average trading volume of 656,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company's shares are sold short.
In other CNO Financial Group 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 62,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,490,430.89. This represents a 7.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Rocco F. Tarasi III sold 4,500 shares of CNO Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $168,795.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 72,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,734,328.96. This trade represents a 5.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,745 shares of company stock worth $572,467 in the last three months. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 123.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CNO Financial Group by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in CNO Financial Group in the second quarter worth $89,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in CNO Financial Group by 26.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.43% of the company's stock.
Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CNO Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CNO Financial Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.00.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on CNO
Shares of CNO opened at $37.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19. CNO Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $24.92 and a fifty-two week high of $40.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 1.02.
CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO - Get Free Report) last released its 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. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 6.06%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $945.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CNO Financial Group will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend 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, 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.
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