Yahoo Finance CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Will Pay A Larger Dividend Than Last Year At $0.15
CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO) has announced that it will be increasing its periodic dividend on the 23rd of June to $0.15, which will be 7.1% higher than last year's comparable payment amount of $0.14. This takes the annual payment to 2.6% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.
View our latest analysis for CNO Financial Group
CNO Financial Group's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage
We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Before making this announcement, CNO Financial Group was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of what the business earns is being used to help it grow.
Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 84.1% over the next year. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 18% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.
CNO Financial Group Has A Solid Track Record
The company has an extended history of paying stable dividends. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $0.08 in 2013 to the most recent total annual payment of $0.56. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 21% per annum over that time. It is good to see that there has been strong dividend growth, and that there haven't been any cuts for a long time.
CNO Financial Group Could Grow Its Dividend
The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. CNO Financial Group has impressed us by growing EPS at 9.5% per year over the past five years. CNO Financial Group definitely has the potential to grow its dividend in the future with earnings on an uptrend and a low payout ratio.
We Really Like CNO Financial Group's Dividend
Overall, a dividend increase is always good, and we think that CNO Financial Group is a strong income stock thanks to its track record and growing earnings. Distributions are quite easily covered by earnings, which are also being converted to cash flows. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.
Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. For example, we've identified 2 warning signs for CNO Financial Group (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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