CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Is Increasing Its Dividend To $0.17

CNO Financial Group, Inc.'s (NYSE:CNO) periodic dividend will be increasing on the 24th of June to $0.17, with investors receiving 6.3% more than last year's $0.16. This takes the annual payment to 1.7% of the current stock price, which is about average for the industry.

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CNO Financial Group's Future Dividend Projections Appear Well Covered By Earnings

We like a dividend to be consistent over the long term, so checking whether it is sustainable is important. However, CNO Financial Group's earnings easily cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 58.8%. Assuming the dividend continues along recent trends, we think the payout ratio could be 15% by next year, which is in a pretty sustainable range.

Check out our latest analysis for CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group Has A Solid Track Record

The company has been paying a dividend for a long time, and it has been quite stable which gives us confidence in the future dividend potential. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.24 in 2015, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $0.64. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 10% a year over that time. Rapidly growing dividends for a long time is a very valuable feature for an income stock.

We Could See CNO Financial Group's Dividend Growing

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. It's encouraging to see that CNO Financial Group has been growing its earnings per share at 6.7% a year over the past five years. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for CNO Financial Group's prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

We Really Like CNO Financial Group's Dividend

Overall, we think this could be an attractive income stock, and it is only getting better by paying a higher dividend this year. 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. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Just as an example, we've come across 2 warning signs for CNO Financial Group you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning. 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.