CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 3rd, 2023

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO – Get Rating)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $22.75, but opened at $21.61. CNO Financial Group shares last traded at $21.48, with a volume of 217,996 shares.

The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $926.00 million. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 11.09%. The business’s revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. CNO Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on CNO Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on CNO Financial Group from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on CNO Financial Group from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 17,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total value of $433,187.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 120,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,121.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Scott L. Goldberg sold 17,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total value of $433,187.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 120,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,046,121.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 4,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.03, for a total value of $109,013.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,806,090.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,239 shares of company stock valued at $709,793 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth about $735,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 49.6% during the 1st quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 829,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,407,000 after acquiring an additional 274,848 shares in the last quarter. CM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth about $229,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 101,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 24,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 813.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 36,736 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.19.

About CNO Financial Group

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CNO Financial Group, Inc is an insurance holding company, which engages in developing, marketing, and administering health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance and other insurance products. It operates through the following segments: Bankers Life, Washington National, and Colonial Penn. The Bankers Life segment markets and distributes medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive life insurance, traditional life insurance, fixed annuities and long-term care insurance products to the middle-income senior market through a dedicated field force of career agents and sales managers supported by a network of community-based sales offices.