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CNO Financial's (CNO) Q4 Earnings Miss Estimates, Rise Y/Y

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CNO Financial Group, Inc.’s (CNO - Free Report) fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings per share of 57 cents missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 58 cents by 1.7%. Nevertheless, the bottom line improved 21.3% year over year.

The company’s results benefited from higher revenues and reduced costs.

Moreover, the company’s total revenues inched up 0.7% year over year to $1.07 billion, driven by higher insurance policy income, improved general account sales, etc. The top line also outpaced the consensus mark by 26.7%.

CNO Financial Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

CNO Financial Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

Quarterly Operational Update

Annuity collected premiums increased 6% year over year to $345 million.

New annualized premiums for life and health products were $86.2 million, down 12% from the year-ago period.

Net investment income for the fourth quarter was up 13% year over year.

Total insurance policy income inched up 0.9% year over year to $629 million.

Total benefits and expenses fell 3% year over year to $932.7 million, primarily on account of lower insurance policy benefits, interest expense.

Financial Update

Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents were $937.8 million as of Dec 31, 2020, up 61.7% from the level at 2019 end.

As of Dec 31, 2020, total assets were $35.4 billion, up 5.1% from the level at 2019 end.

Total shareholders’ equity of $5.4 billion as of Dec 31, 2020 increased 17.3% from the 2019-end level.

Debt-to-capital was 17.2% as of Dec 31, 2020 compared with 17.5% at 2019 end.

Securities Repurchase and Dividend Update

In the fourth quarter, the company returned $116.6 million in the form of share buybacks worth $100 million and dividends of $16.6 million.

Business Update

The company closed its buyout of DirectPath, LLC, which is a leading national provider of employee benefits management services to both employers and employees.

Full-Year Update

For 2020, net operating income came in at $2.53, up 37% year over year. The figure also compared favorably with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.51.

Total revenues for 2020 stood at $3.8 billion, down 4.8% year over year.
Operating ROE for 2020 was 12.9%.

Zacks Rank and Performance of Other Insurers

CNO Financial carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Of the insurance industry players that have reported fourth-quarter results so far, The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV - Free Report) , W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB - Free Report) and Brown & Brown, Inc. (BRO - Free Report) beat on earnings.

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