CNO Financial Group has been treading water for the past six months, recording a small return of 3.1% while holding steady at $40.59.

Is now the time to buy CNO Financial Group, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Check out our in-depth research report to see what our analysts have to say, it’s free.

Why Do We Think CNO Financial Group Will Underperform?

We're swiping left on CNO Financial Group for now. Here are three reasons we avoid CNO and a stock we'd rather own.

1. Net Premiums Earned Hit a Plateau

Net premiums earned are net of what’s paid to reinsurers (insurance for insurance companies), which are used by insurers to protect themselves from large losses.

CNO Financial Group’s net premiums earned was flat over the last five years, much worse than the broader insurance industry and in line with its total revenue.

3. Steady Increase in BVPS Highlights Solid Asset Growth

Book value per share (BVPS) serves as a key indicator of an insurer’s financial stability, reflecting a company’s ability to maintain adequate capital levels and meet its long-term obligations to policyholders.

Although CNO Financial Group’s BVPS declined at a 7.2% annual clip over the last five years. the good news is that its growth inflected positive over the past two years as BVPS grew at a solid 17.4% annual clip (from $20.26 to $27.92 per share).

Final Judgment

We see the value of companies helping consumers, but in the case of CNO Financial Group, we’re out. That said, the stock currently trades at 1.3× forward P/B (or $40.59 per share). This valuation tells us a lot of optimism is priced in - we think there are better opportunities elsewhere. We’d recommend looking at one of our all-time favorite software stocks.

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