Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TheStreet raised Horace Mann Educators from a c rating to a b rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Horace Mann Educators from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Horace Mann Educators from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the company from $33.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Monday, January 29th.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Up 1.2 %

HMN stock opened at $34.52 on Tuesday. Horace Mann Educators has a twelve month low of $27.81 and a twelve month high of $38.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.96 and its 200-day moving average is $33.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.96 and a beta of 0.28.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.19. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 3.02%. The company had revenue of $402.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.40 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Horace Mann Educators will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Horace Mann Educators’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 125.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Horace Mann Educators news, SVP Kimberly A. Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $780,264. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Bret A. Conklin sold 9,689 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.80, for a total transaction of $346,866.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 63,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,288,407.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kimberly A. Johnson sold 5,000 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $180,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $780,264. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,077 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,021 over the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HMN. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 43.7% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,083,838 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $119,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241,193 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,578,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $117,001,000 after purchasing an additional 303,501 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Horace Mann Educators during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,124,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,756,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,822,000 after acquiring an additional 186,368 shares during the period. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 143.0% during the 2nd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 210,030 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,229,000 after acquiring an additional 123,594 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

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.