Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO) from NEUTRAL to OUTPERFORM on September 28, 2012, with a target price of $12.00.
We are upgrading our recommendation on CNO Financial to Outperform based on the latest recapitalization plan. This should improve the capital structure and debt maturity profile It is also expected to augment earnings per share and ROE. Improved credit ratings, strong investment portfolio and declining expenses are the other positives. The company's second quarter earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate driven by modest revenue growth. Most segments showed improvement in operating earnings, while repayment of senior notes improved debt-to-total capital ratio and allowed the initiation of dividend. Efficient capital deployment also improved book value per share and risk-based capital ratio, although it led to lower cash and investments. Although underwriting and pricing remain primary concerns, increasing new business volume, along with cost containment measures are expected to support the bottom line in the long run.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
To get a free copy of the research report on CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO),
click here.
For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit
Zacks.com .
Be the first to comment