Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.00.

Horace Mann Educators Price Performance

Shares of HMN stock opened at $43.97 on Friday. Horace Mann Educators has a 12-month low of $31.81 and a 12-month high of $44.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.82 and a 200-day moving average of $40.86.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.19. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. The company had revenue of $416.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Horace Mann Educators declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Horace Mann Educators

In other Horace Mann Educators news, EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 15,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $673,341.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,792 shares in the company, valued at $2,428,067.84. This trade represents a 21.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Victor Fetter purchased 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $44.03 per share, with a total value of $154,105.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,259.65. This represents a 31.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,254 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,164. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 389.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 806.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 69.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. 99.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Horace Mann Educators Company Profile

Horace Mann Educators Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an insurance holding company in the United States. The company operates through Property & Casualty, Life & Retirement, and Supplemental & Group Benefits segments. Its Property & Casualty segment offers insurance products, including private passenger auto insurance, residential home insurance, and personal umbrella insurance; and provides auto coverages including liability and collision, and property coverage for homeowners and renters.