CNO Financial (CNO) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $3.97B
• Dividend Yield: 1.54%
• Average Volume (3M): 722.76K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 18.1
• Beta (1Y): 0.72
• Revenue Growth: -1.61%
• EPS Growth: 15.79%
• Country: US
• Employees: 3,400
• Sector: Financial
• Sector Strength: 70
• Industry: Insurance - Life
• EPS (TTM): 1.47
• Shares Outstanding: 94,277,710
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 1,051,627
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 722,759
• PEG Ratio: -0.47
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.57
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.93
• P/FCF Ratio: 6.14
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.78
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.57
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 3.92
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 9.40
• 1Y Price Target: $46.67
• Price Target Upside: 8.36% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 3
• EPS Forecast (FY): 4.41
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $4.05B

• Rating: 62 Neutral
• Price Target: $44.00 ▲(2.16% Upside)
• Action: Downgraded Date: 02/25/26
• Date: Action: Downgraded 02/25/26

The score is driven primarily by adequate-but-not-high-quality fundamentals (margin/ROE compression and elevated leverage offset by strong cash generation) and a neutral-to-soft technical picture. These are partially improved by a constructive earnings-call setup with higher 2026 EPS guidance and disciplined capital targets, while valuation is only moderately supportive.

Positive Factors

Strong cash generation

Consistent and rising operating cash flow and positive free cash flow provide durable internal funding for share repurchases, dividends, tech modernization and reinsurance funding. That cash buffer improves resilience to underwriting cycles and gives management flexibility to execute multi-year plans.

Consistent sales & diversified product growth

Sustained production records and broad-based NAP growth across life, health, worksite and annuity channels show a durable distribution footprint and product diversification. This reduces reliance on any single segment and supports steady premium inflows and long-term in-force value accumulation.

Solid capital, liquidity and investment quality

High risk-based capital, substantial holding-company liquidity and a predominantly investment-grade portfolio materially lower solvency and refinancing risks. These structural strengths support regulatory compliance, underwriting capacity and consistent investment income in varied market environments.

Negative Factors

Elevated leverage

A materially higher debt load than historical norms increases sensitivity to rates and market volatility and constrains strategic flexibility. Elevated leverage can amplify underwriting or investment shocks, raise funding costs, and limit optionality for capital returns or opportunistic investments over the medium term.

Margin and ROE compression

Sustained decline in profitability and return metrics reduces internal capital generation and the firm's ability to absorb adverse claims or invest for growth. Even with management targets, restoring prior ROE levels requires persistent margin recovery or structural improvements in product economics.

Medicare Advantage & product headwinds

Pressure in the Medicare Advantage market and payer behavior can durably reduce sales, distribution economics and increase churn for affected products. Given MA's role in health product mix, sustained headwinds could meaningfully impair revenue growth and margin stability in the health segment.

CNO Financial Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products 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. The company also focuses on worksite and group sales for businesses, associations, and other membership groups by interacting with customers at their place of employment. In addition, it provides fixed index annuities; fixed interest annuities, including fixed rate single and flexible premium deferred annuities; single premium immediate annuities; supplemental health products, such as specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity products; and long-term care plans primarily to retirees and older self-employed individuals in the middle-income market. Further, the company offers universal life and other interest-sensitive life products; and traditional life policies that include whole life, graded benefit life, term life, and single premium whole life products, as well as graded benefit life insurance products. CNO Financial Group, Inc. markets its products under the Bankers Life, Washington National, and Colonial Penn brand names. The company sells its products through agents, independent producers, and direct marketing. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

How the Company Makes Money

CNO Financial generates revenue through multiple streams, primarily through the sale of insurance products and services. The company's key revenue sources include premiums collected from life and health insurance policies, which provide a steady income stream. Additionally, CNO earns revenue from investment income generated by managing the premiums it receives before claims are paid out. Annuity sales also contribute to its revenue, as the company offers various annuity products that yield returns over time. Partnerships with agents and brokers enhance distribution, enabling CNO to reach a broader market and increase sales. Furthermore, CNO's focus on middle-income Americans positions it uniquely in a niche market, allowing for sustained growth and profitability.

CNO Financial Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Adequate fundamentals: revenue scale is stable and cash generation is strong (operating cash flow rising and positive free cash flow with a notable 2025 jump). Offsetting this, profitability and returns have cooled materially since 2021–2022 (net margin and ROE down), and leverage remains elevated even though it improved in 2025.

Income Statement

Revenue has grown over the last several years overall (2020: ~$3.8B to 2025: ~$4.5B), but growth has been uneven with at least one down year (2022). Profitability has weakened materially from the 2021–2022 peak: net margin fell from ~13.8% (2021) and ~17.6% (2022) to ~9.1% (2024) and ~5.1% (2025), and operating profitability also stepped down sharply in 2024–2025 versus 2022. Strength is continued positive earnings and stable top-line scale; weakness is the clear compression in profit margins and earnings power in the most recent year.

Balance Sheet

Leverage is elevated for recent years, with debt running higher than equity (debt-to-equity ~1.8–2.2x in 2022–2024 and ~1.5x in 2025), which adds sensitivity to market and underwriting/claims volatility typical in life insurance. Return on equity has also cooled meaningfully from very strong levels in 2022 (~35.7%) to mid-to-high single digits in 2025 (~8.7%). A positive is the improvement in leverage from 2022–2024 to 2025, but the overall balance-sheet risk profile remains more levered than earlier years (2020–2021 were <1.0x debt-to-equity).

Cash Flow

Cash generation looks solid and improving: operating cash flow rose from ~$495M (2022) to ~$676M (2025), and free cash flow is positive each year with a strong jump in 2025 (free cash flow growth ~70%). Free cash flow also appears well-supported relative to reported earnings in the provided data (free cash flow-to-net income shown as 1.0). The main weakness is volatility in the year-to-year free cash flow growth profile (declines in 2021–2022 followed by recovery), indicating cash generation can swing with business conditions.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	4.49B	4.45B	4.15B	3.58B	4.12B
Gross Profit	2.01B	1.70B	1.53B	1.79B	1.70B
EBITDA	524.30M	1.07B	862.80M	1.20B	1.07B
Net Income	229.30M	404.00M	276.50M	630.60M	570.30M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	5.20M	37.85B	35.03B	33.13B	36.20B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	983.50M	9.45B	22.28B	20.42B	24.91B
Total Debt	4.05B	4.52B	4.15B	3.88B	4.00B
Total Liabilities	36.09B	35.35B	32.81B	31.36B	30.94B
Stockholders Equity	2.64B	2.50B	2.22B	1.77B	5.26B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	675.70M	627.70M	582.90M	495.40M	598.30M
Operating Cash Flow	675.70M	627.70M	582.90M	495.40M	598.30M
Investing Cash Flow	-1.67B	-1.49B	-872.30M	-1.78B	-1.53B
Financing Cash Flow	-22.60M	1.97B	533.50M	1.20B	667.60M

CNO Financial Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 43.07
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: 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 43.07 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 42.69, above the 50-day MA of 42.58, and above the 200-day MA of 39.57, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.07 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 53.90 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 53.78 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CNO.

CNO Financial Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
Sector *	68 Neutral	$18.00B	11.42	9.92%	3.81%	9.73%	1.22%
FG	64 Neutral	$3.06B	12.11	6.05%	2.91%	-4.58%	―
GNW	63 Neutral	$3.41B	15.89	2.86%	―	1.41%	150.35%
LNC	63 Neutral	$6.77B	6.10	12.27%	3.93%	35.76%	636.97%
CNO	62 Neutral	$3.97B	18.12	11.12%	1.54%	-1.61%	15.79%
JXN	58 Neutral	$7.44B	-334.28	0.27%	2.98%	24.94%	―
BHF	54 Neutral	$3.54B	10.47	7.38%	―	27.71%	―

CNO Financial Corporate Events

CNO Financial Announces Dividend and Board Leadership Change

CNO Financial Group, Inc., which targets middle-income consumers with life and health insurance, annuities and financial services through brands such as Bankers Life and Colonial Penn, plans to hold its 2026 annual shareholder meeting virtually on May 12, 2026. Shareholders of record as of March 16, 2026, will be able to participate, vote and submit questions via live webcast.

On February 11, 2026, CNO declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per common share, payable March 24, 2026, to shareholders of record on March 10, 2026, underscoring its ongoing capital return to investors. The company also announced that long-serving director Nina Henderson, chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee and a board member since 2012, will retire at the close of the annual meeting, after which the board will consist of nine directors, potentially signaling a streamlined governance structure.

The most recent analyst rating on (CNO) stock is a Buy with a $50.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on CNO Financial stock, see the CNO Stock Forecast page.

CNO Financial Appoints Linda Gibson to Board of Directors

On January 15, 2026, CNO Financial Group appointed Linda T. Gibson, former chairperson and CEO of PGIM Quantitative Solutions, to its board of directors as an independent director, expanding the board to ten members and assigning her to the Audit and Enterprise Risk Committee and the Investment Committee. The move brings more than three decades of global investment management and asset allocation expertise to CNO’s board, reinforcing the insurer’s strategic emphasis on investment strategy, technology-enabled solutions and long-term shareholder returns, while maintaining standard, customary compensation and governance arrangements with no related-party transactions disclosed.

The most recent analyst rating on (CNO) stock is a Buy with a $49.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on CNO Financial stock, see the CNO Stock Forecast page.