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CNO Financial Group

CNO
41
Insurance - Life · Financial Services
Winston Score
41
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

CNO Financial Group sells life insurance, health insurance, and retirement products to middle-income Americans. Its main brands include Bankers Life, Washington National, and Pekin Life Insurance, which sell policies like Medicare supplements, long-term care coverage, annuities, and life insurance. The company focuses specifically on people near or in retirement who are not wealthy enough to use big private wealth managers but still need financial protection.

CNO makes money by collecting insurance premiums and earning investment income on the money it holds before paying out claims. It operates almost entirely in the United States and has roughly 3.3 million policyholders. Its competitive position comes from its focused niche serving middle-income retirees, a segment that larger insurers often overlook. The key growth driver is the aging U.S. population, which expands demand for Medicare supplement and retirement income products, though rising claims costs and interest rate swings on its investment portfolio remain ongoing risks.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+2.5% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+185.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

Insider Activity

2.7%ownership

Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$1.2B cash & investments

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

CNO Financial Group is growing revenue at 3% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

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Quality

Gross Margin
44.6%
Healthy — 44.6% gross margin
Operating Margin
4.7%
Thin — 4.7% operating margin
ROCE
0.7%
Weak — 0.7% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+5.0%
Slow sales growth (5.0% YoY)
EPS YoY
-13.6%
Earnings shrinking (-13.6% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

EPS Consistency
4/8 quarters
Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
280%
Turns 280% of profit into real cash
FCF Margin
15.2%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (15.2%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
1.72
Elevated debt (1.72)
Interest Cover
1.43x
Dangerous — barely covers interest (1.4x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
20.6x
no trend
Growth-priced — P/E 20.6

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

P/E vs Forward
+10.1
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (20.6 → 10.5)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
1.32%
no trend
Small dividend — 1.32% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend Growth
+6.2%
no trend
Dividend growing modestly (6.2% YoY)

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