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CNO Financial
(NYSE:CNO)
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Rating:73Outperform
Price Target:
$62.00
▲(16.48% Upside)
Action:Upgraded
Date:08/07/26
The score is driven primarily by a strong earnings-call update (raised EPS guidance, sales momentum, improving profitability and capital strength) and supportive technical uptrend. Offsetting factors are only mid-range financial statements due to compressed margins and meaningful leverage, plus a valuation profile that is reasonable but not especially cheap and a modest dividend yield.
Positive Factors
Strong cash generation
Consistent, material free cash flow (~$699M TTM) that converts 1:1 to reported earnings provides durable internal funding for claims, technology investment, and capital returns. Reliable cash generation reduces reliance on external funding and strengthens resilience over the next several quarters.
Negative Factors
Elevated balance-sheet leverage
Leverage near ~1.7–1.8x equity is notable for a life insurer where conservative capital matters. Elevated debt increases sensitivity to interest-cost and liquidity shocks, constrains strategic optionality, and raises the importance of sustained cash flow and capital actions to avoid pressure over the midterm.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Strong cash generation
Consistent, material free cash flow (~$699M TTM) that converts 1:1 to reported earnings provides durable internal funding for claims, technology investment, and capital returns. Reliable cash generation reduces reliance on external funding and strengthens resilience over the next several quarters.
Read all positive factors
CNO Financial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Type
Separates total revenue into insurance premiums, investment income, fees, and realized gains, revealing how much earnings rely on underwriting versus market returns and the company’s sensitivity to interest-rate and market movements.
Separates total revenue into insurance premiums, investment income, fees, and realized gains, revealing how much earnings rely on underwriting versus market returns and the company’s sensitivity to interest-rate and market movements.
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The Fly
The FlyCNO Financial (CNO) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$5.11B
Dividend Yield1.25%
Average Volume (3M)722.76K
Price to Earnings (P/E)18.6
Beta (1Y)0.73
Revenue Growth5.72%
EPS Growth7.05%
CountryUS
Employees3,200
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryInsurance - Life
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)2.97
Shares Outstanding92,521,370
10 Day Avg. Volume1,051,627
30 Day Avg. Volume722,759
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.47
Price to Book (P/B)1.57
Price to Sales (P/S)0.93
P/FCF Ratio6.14
Enterprise Value/Market Cap<0.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue<0.01
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit<0.01
Enterprise Value/Ebitda<0.01
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$53.00Price Target Upside-0.43% Downside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering5
EPS Forecast (FY)4.7
Revenue Forecast (FY)$4.06B
CNO Financial Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, and established in 1979, CNO Financial Group, Inc. operates across the United States, developing, marketing, and administering a broad spectrum of insurance and annuity products primarily for middle-income and sen...
How the Company Makes Money
CNO primarily makes money by underwriting and servicing insurance and annuity products and by investing the premiums it collects. Key revenue and earnings drivers include: (1) Premium and policy charges: For life and health insurance products, the...
CNO Financial Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jul 30, 2026
(Q2-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Nov 04, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed strong operational momentum: robust top-line sales across Consumer and Worksite divisions, record asset and annuity metrics, improving insurance margins, higher net investment income, solid capital ratios and active shareholder returns, alongside an upgraded full-year EPS outlook. Headwinds are present but relatively contained — notably a 9% decline in life NAP (D2C transition), one-time reserve development in Medicare Supplement (~$4M), isolated large supplemental health claims, potential expense normalization, and competitive pressures in annuities. On balance the positives (sustained sales growth, margin expansion, investment income gains, capital returns, and raised guidance) materially outweigh the negatives.Positive Updates
Operating Earnings Growth and Guidance Raise
Operating earnings per diluted share of $1.26 in Q2, up 45% year-over-year; operating EPS up 43% year-to-date excluding significant items. Company raised full-year operating EPS guidance to $4.60–$4.80 (midpoint ~+8% vs prior guidance).
Negative Updates
Life Sales Decline and D2C Channel Variability
Life NAP declined 9% versus the prior-year quarter, driven primarily by lower direct-to-consumer sales during a marketing shift away from television toward web/digital/third-party channels. Management noted this transition may create quarterly variability.
Read all updates
Q2-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Operating Earnings Growth and Guidance Raise
Operating earnings per diluted share of $1.26 in Q2, up 45% year-over-year; operating EPS up 43% year-to-date excluding significant items. Company raised full-year operating EPS guidance to $4.60–$4.80 (midpoint ~+8% vs prior guidance).
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
CNO raised its full‑year operating EPS guidance to $4.60–$4.80 (about an 8% increase at the midpoint), narrowed the expense‑ratio target to 18.8%–19.0% (reducing the upper end by 20 bps) while noting full‑year expense dollars remain consistent with prior guidance, lowered the effective tax‑rate assumption to ~21.5%, and reaffirmed other 2026 metrics (no changes to target RBC, holdco liquidity or leverage targets and no change to full‑year free cash‑flow expectations); at quarter end consolidated RBC was 377%, holding‑company liquidity $233M and debt‑to‑capital 26.1%, the company expects to move closer to target capital levels across operating subsidiaries (including Bermuda) which could contribute to second‑half free cash flow subject to regulatory approval, and now expects 2026 operating ROE to exceed the prior three‑year 12% target (with new ROE targets to be set in February 2027).CNO Financial Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
62
Positive
Balance Sheet
55
Neutral
Cash Flow
72
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 4.65B | 4.49B | 4.45B | 4.15B | 3.58B | 4.12B |
| Gross Profit | 2.02B | 2.01B | 1.70B | 1.53B | 1.79B | 1.70B |
| EBITDA | 817.00M | 842.80M | 1.07B | 862.80M | 1.20B | 1.07B |
| Net Income | 279.60M | 229.30M | 404.00M | 276.50M | 630.60M | 570.30M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 39.80B | 38.79B | 37.85B | 35.03B | 33.13B | 36.20B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 1.31B | 8.87B | 24.69B | 22.28B | 20.63B | 25.13B |
| Total Debt | 4.55B | 4.05B | 4.52B | 4.15B | 3.88B | 4.00B |
| Total Liabilities | 283.10M | 36.15B | 35.33B | 32.81B | 31.36B | 30.94B |
| Stockholders Equity | 2.59B | 2.64B | 2.52B | 2.22B | 1.77B | 5.26B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 698.90M | 675.70M | 627.70M | 582.90M | 495.40M | 598.30M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 698.90M | 675.70M | 627.70M | 582.90M | 495.40M | 598.30M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -1.79B | -1.67B | -1.49B | -872.30M | -1.78B | -1.53B |
| Financing Cash Flow | 1.59B | -22.60M | 1.97B | 533.50M | 1.20B | 667.60M |
CNO Financial Technical Analysis
Positive
53.23
Price Trends
52.49
Positive
48.30
Positive
44.78
Positive
Market Momentum
0.82
Positive
62.86
Neutral
24.38
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CNO, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 53.23 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 54.22, above the 50-day MA of 52.49, and above the 200-day MA of 44.78, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.82 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 62.86 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 24.38 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CNO.
CNO Financial Risk Analysis
CNO Financial disclosed 32 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. CNO Financial reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
CNO Financial Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
73 Outperform | $5.11B | 18.61 | 10.82% | 1.30% | 5.72% | 7.05% | |
73 Outperform | $3.59B | 9.14 | 8.86% | 3.27% | 13.68% | 16.86% | |
70 Outperform | $8.70B | 3.79 | 21.99% | 4.35% | 12.32% | 97.86% | |
69 Neutral | $9.17B | 169.15 | 1.04% | 2.85% | 15.09% | ― | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
63 Neutral | $3.84B | 18.64 | 2.42% | ― | -0.68% | 19.26% | |
50 Neutral | $3.37B | 4.61 | 13.17% | ― | 2.62% | 33.55% |
* Financial Sector Average
CNO
CNO Financial
55.28
18.13
48.79%
GNW
Genworth Financial
10.16
1.79
21.39%
LNC
Lincoln National
45.46
7.08
18.45%
BHF
Brighthouse Financial
58.68
13.09
28.71%
JXN
Jackson Financial Incorporation
135.32
44.44
48.90%
FG
F&G Annuities & Life Inc
27.42
-5.61
-16.99%
CNO Financial Corporate Events
Executive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
CNO Financial Shareholders Back Board, Pay and Auditor
Positive
May 13, 2026
On May 12, 2026, CNO Financial held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, where investors elected nine directors to one-year terms ending at the 2027 annual meeting, with each nominee receiving strong majority support across the shareholder bas...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.