December 7, 2023
Top 10 Stock CNO Financial Hold Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: CNO Financial – Top 10 Stock in Dow Jones U.S. Insurance Index
CNO Financial is listed as a top 10 stock on December 07, 2023 in the market index D.J. US Insurance because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. As three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, it is a solid investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is low, despite a currently slow growth momentum. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 39 (39% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for CNO Financial on December 07, 2023.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Life & Health Insurance |
| Index | Diversity USA, D.J. US Insurance, S&P MIDCAP |
| Size class | X-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View CNO Financial Hold
| 360 METRICS | December 7, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 70 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 29 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 72 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 56 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 39 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 39 (better than 39% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock CNO Financial are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for CNO Financial. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 70, which means that the share price of CNO Financial is on the lower side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is lower than for 70% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The company is also safely financed with a Safety rank of 72. In addition, professional market sentiment is above average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 56. But the consolidated Growth Rank has a low rank of 29, which means that the company is below average in terms of growth and momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth as well as stock returns. 71 of its competitors have better growth. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 39, CNO Financial is worse than 61% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. Three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks show above-average performance. The stock has as good value (Value Rank of 70), secure financing practices (Safety Rank of 72), and positive market sentiment in the professional investor community (Sentiment Rank of 56). It is a solid stock investment where the risk of paying too much for the shares is limited, and disappointments are less likely to occur. The company’s growth expectations are below the industry average (Growth Rank of 29), but that could also be temporary since professional investors remain optimistic despite the low growth numbers. The low price as reflected in the good Value Rank could indicate that the company's future is challenging. The below-par growth performance may be the reason for this. Companies that grow less are typically cheaper than fast-growing competitors. We recommend evaluating whether the future of CNO Financial is as difficult as the stock’s low price suggests, despite the positive professional investor sentiment. Since the professional community is optimistic, you might have less to worry about, and the stock may just go through a more challenging phase now, indicating good timing. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for CNO Financial positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 56 (better than 56% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock CNO Financial is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with half of the metrics below and half above average for CNO Financial. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 24 (worse than 76% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 85, which means that stock research experts are more positive in their investment recommendations in the company. In other words, they are getting more optimistic of stock investments in CNO Financial. More encouragingly, the Professional Investors rank is 88, which means that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 88% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. But Market Pulse is on the lower side with a rank of 39, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are on the negative side when discussing this company (more negative news than for 61% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 56 (more positive than 56% compared with investment alternatives), CNO Financial has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. The sentiment signals are mixed for CNO Financial. While analysts and the news channels are negative, there is a change in what analysts think. Above-average institutional investors in this company support them. Sentiment signals remain mixed with analysts and news channels pessimistic, though improving, and professional investors above average. ...read more
Value Strategy: CNO Financial Stock Price Value better than average
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 70 (better than 70% compared with alternatives), CNO Financial shares are more attractively priced than the majority of comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators that are all above average for CNO Financial. Price-to-Sales is 51 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 51% of comparable companies, indicating a good value for CNO Financial's revenue size. The same is valid for expected Price-to-Profits, more favorable than for 67% of alternatives, and this is also true for the Price-to-Book capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 83. Compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields of CNO Financial are expected to be higher than for 56% of all competitors (a Dividend Yield rank of 56). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 70, is a buy recommendation based on CNO Financial's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since all value metrics are above the industry average, there is no objection to investing in CNO Financial based on its detailed value metrics.
Growth Strategy: CNO Financial Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 29 (better than 29% compared with alternatives), CNO Financial shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for CNO Financial. Profit Growth has a rank of 53, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits more than 53% of its competitors. This is a good sign for shareholders, which is confirmed by an above-average Stock Returns rank of 59 (above 59% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has a below the median rank of 40, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 60% of its competitors, and Capital Growth also has a lower rank of 5. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 29, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Because revenues and invested capital are the more solid growth indicators, the positive development on the profit side is less relevant. It may have been caused by cost-cutting, which may be a negative growth indicator. Finally, the above-average stock returns recently are a thing of the past and not a good indicator of future returns. Investors should be confident that the cost-cutting initiative leading to higher profits is to benefit the company's future. If not, there is little growth momentum, and investment is only advisable if the Value Ranks suggest a good investment timing for CNO Financial. ...read more
Safety Strategy: CNO Financial Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | December 7, 2023 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 5 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 84 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 42 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 72 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 72 (better than 72% compared with alternatives), the company CNO Financial has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of CNO Financial is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for CNO Financial and the other two below average. Refinancing is at 84, meaning the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 84% of its competitors. But Leverage is high with a rank of 5, meaning the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 95% of its competitors. Liquidity is also on the riskier side with a rank of 42, meaning the company generates less profit to service its debt than 58% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 72 (better than 72% compared with alternatives), CNO Financial has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. A good Refinancing Rank means that the problems of the company may not be around the corner. But high Leverage is only good if things go well, and low Liquidity is a signal for caution. The financing signals for CNO Financial are on the riskier side, requiring the company's future to be on the safer side. Investors may want to look at Growth and Sentiment ranks before making an investment decision. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: CNO Financial Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | December 7, 2023 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 70 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 29 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 42 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 64 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 64 (better than 64% compared with investment alternatives), CNO Financial (Life & Health Insurance, USA) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of CNO Financial are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 70 (better than 70% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 72, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 29). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 64, is a buy recommendation based on CNO Financial's financial characteristics. As the company CNO Financial's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 70) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 29) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 72), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 70% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. ...read more
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