Here's Why Investors Should Hold CNO Financial Stock for Now

CNO Financial Group, Inc. CNO is strategically positioned for growth, supported by strong collected premiums from annuity, life and health products, rising new annualized premiums and higher fee revenues. Diversified product portfolio, strategic acquisitions, technological advancements and improved insurance policy income drive further momentum. Shares of CNO have risen 14.4% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 6.6%.

Headquartered in Carmel, IN, the company holds a market capitalization of $3.8 billion. CNO Financial is a U.S.-based insurance company that develops, administers and markets annuity, supplemental health, individual life insurance, and other insurance and financial services products. Its forward 12-month P/E ratio of 9.50X is higher than the industry average of 8.86X.

Courtesy of solid prospects, CNO currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Where Do CNO’s Estimates Stand?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNO Financial’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $3.79 per share. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $3.9 billion for 2025. Furthermore, it beat earnings estimates in three of the past four quarters and met once, with an average surprise of 14.2%.

CNO Financial Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

CNO Financial Group, Inc. price-eps-surprise | CNO Financial Group, Inc. Quote

CNO’s Growth Drivers

CNO Financial stands to benefit from its diversified product portfolio, which includes annuity, health and life insurance offerings. This broad range of products enables the company to effectively manage risks while maintaining a steady stream of premium income, a key revenue driver.

Total collected premiums rose 8.7% year over year in the second quarter of 2025, along with 1.5% growth in total insurance policy income, aided by improved performance from annuity, life and health products. Policyholder and other special-purpose portfolios surged 83.6% year over year in the second quarter of 2025.

CNO Financial’s emphasis on launching innovative products and enhancing existing offerings positions it well to capture future insurance premium growth. In addition, the company strategically leverages acquisitions and partnerships to diversify its portfolio, reach a wider customer base and strengthen its geographic presence.

CNO is also investing continuously in technology to boost agent productivity and enhance sales and marketing efficiency. Its new customer relationship management platform helps it to enable sales and new group development. Despite fee sales remaining flat in the second quarter of 2025, it expects improvement in the second half of the year, driven by increasing interest in the Optavise Clear product. Optavise Clear brings existing services together into a single package and also introduces new Medicare advocacy services and improved user technology.

CNO Financial has demonstrated a strong commitment to shareholder returns through consistent capital distribution. In second-quarter 2025, the company repurchased $100 million worth of shares and paid $16.7 million in dividends.

Risks for CNO Stock

There are some factors, however, that investors should keep a careful eye on.

CNO Financial’s balance sheet reflects a relatively high level of leverage. At the end of Q2 2025, its long-term debt-to-capital ratio stood at 60, nearly double the industry average of 30.2. Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents fell sharply to $766 million from $1.7 billion at the end of 2024, while long-term debt remained elevated at $3.8 billion.

The company faces escalating expenses due to higher insurance policy benefits. Total benefits and expenses increased 3.7% year over year in 2024 and 12.9% in the second quarter of 2025. The expenses ratio deteriorated 20 basis points in the second quarter of 2025.

Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader finance space are Evercore Inc. EVR, Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. HRTG and Acadian Asset Management Inc. AAMI, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Evercore’s current-year earnings of $12.67 per share has witnessed one upward revision in the past 30 days against none in the opposite direction. Evercore beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 44.1%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $3.5 billion, implying 17.4% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Heritage Insurance’s current-year earnings of $4.10 per share has witnessed two upward revisions in the past 60 days against no movement in the opposite direction. Heritage Insurance beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 360.7%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $842.2 million, calling for 3.1% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Acadian Asset Management’s current-year earnings is pegged at $3.72 per share and has witnessed one upward revision in the past 60 days against no movement in the opposite direction. Acadian Asset Management beat earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and met once, with the average surprise being 15.7%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $620.9 million, calling for 22.8% year-over-year growth.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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