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CNO Financial's Dividend Gets a Raise: Does the Yield Still Look Shy?
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Key Takeaways
CNO Financial raised its quarterly dividend 5.9% to 18 cents per share, to be paid June 24, 2026.
CNO Financial's dividend yield of 1.57% is below the industry average of 2.52%.
CNO Financial bought back $60M in Q1 and had $360.4M left under its repurchase program.
Insurer CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO - Free Report) recently announced a 5.9% increase in its quarterly cash dividend to 18 cents per share from 17 cents paid out earlier. The increased amount will be paid out on June 24, 2026, to its shareholders on record as of June 10, 2025. However, based on the closing price of $45.90 per share on May 7, the stock has a dividend yield of 1.57%, lower than the industry average of 2.52%. This leaves more room for future dividend growth.
This move signals the 14th annual dividend hike by the company. If we look back at the last reported quarter, CNOpaid out dividends worth $17.1 million. Furthermore, it bought back 1.4 million shares for $60 million in the first quarter. It had around $360.4 million left from the current buyback program as of March 31, 2026.
Now, let’s check its financial position, which enables it to take shareholder-friendly moves.
Its operating cash flow increased 17.7% in 2023, 7.7% in 2024, 7.6% in 2025 and 8.9% in the first quarter of 2026. CNO Financial exited the first quarter with unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $1.1 billion, which rose 18.1% from the 2025-end level.
However, the debt burden keeps increasing. At first quarter-end, long-term debt reached above $4 billion from $3.8 billion at 2025-end. Its debt-to-capital was 34.8% at the first-quarter end, which deteriorated 120 basis points from the 2025-end figure.
Nevertheless, given its continued sales momentum, focus on the middle-income market and growing insurance product margin, its financial strength is likely to improve in the future.
Shares of the company have jumped 8% so far this year, outperforming the industry average of 3.9% decline.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hamilton Insurance’s current-year earnings of $3.46 per share increased by 4 cents over the past 60 days. HG beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 84.8%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $2.8 billion.
The consensus estimate for Aegon’s current-year earnings is pegged at 28 cents, which remained stable over the past week. The consensus mark for AEG’s current-year revenues of $22.4 billion implies a 110.5% year-over-year surge.
The consensus estimate for Radian Group’s current-year earnings is pegged at $4.79 per share, which indicates 7.6% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 10.7%. The consensus estimate for RDN’s current-year revenues is pegged at $1.2 billion.
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CNO Financial's Dividend Gets a Raise: Does the Yield Still Look Shy?
Key Takeaways
Insurer CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO - Free Report) recently announced a 5.9% increase in its quarterly cash dividend to 18 cents per share from 17 cents paid out earlier. The increased amount will be paid out on June 24, 2026, to its shareholders on record as of June 10, 2025. However, based on the closing price of $45.90 per share on May 7, the stock has a dividend yield of 1.57%, lower than the industry average of 2.52%. This leaves more room for future dividend growth.
This move signals the 14th annual dividend hike by the company. If we look back at the last reported quarter, CNOpaid out dividends worth $17.1 million. Furthermore, it bought back 1.4 million shares for $60 million in the first quarter. It had around $360.4 million left from the current buyback program as of March 31, 2026.
Now, let’s check its financial position, which enables it to take shareholder-friendly moves.
Its operating cash flow increased 17.7% in 2023, 7.7% in 2024, 7.6% in 2025 and 8.9% in the first quarter of 2026. CNO Financial exited the first quarter with unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $1.1 billion, which rose 18.1% from the 2025-end level.
However, the debt burden keeps increasing. At first quarter-end, long-term debt reached above $4 billion from $3.8 billion at 2025-end. Its debt-to-capital was 34.8% at the first-quarter end, which deteriorated 120 basis points from the 2025-end figure.
Nevertheless, given its continued sales momentum, focus on the middle-income market and growing insurance product margin, its financial strength is likely to improve in the future.
Shares of the company have jumped 8% so far this year, outperforming the industry average of 3.9% decline.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
CNO currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader insurance space are Hamilton Insurance Group, Ltd. (HG - Free Report) , Aegon Ltd. (AEG - Free Report) and Radian Group Inc. (RDN - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hamilton Insurance’s current-year earnings of $3.46 per share increased by 4 cents over the past 60 days. HG beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 84.8%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $2.8 billion.
The consensus estimate for Aegon’s current-year earnings is pegged at 28 cents, which remained stable over the past week. The consensus mark for AEG’s current-year revenues of $22.4 billion implies a 110.5% year-over-year surge.
The consensus estimate for Radian Group’s current-year earnings is pegged at $4.79 per share, which indicates 7.6% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 10.7%. The consensus estimate for RDN’s current-year revenues is pegged at $1.2 billion.