Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) Short Interest Down 21.1% in February

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 666,800 shares, a decrease of 21.1% from the February 13th total of 844,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 198,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HMN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.67.

Horace Mann Educators Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of HMN traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.56. The stock had a trading volume of 153,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,523. Horace Mann Educators has a fifty-two week low of $31.81 and a fifty-two week high of $43.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.25.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.58. Horace Mann Educators had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 10.58%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from Horace Mann Educators’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Horace Mann Educators’s payout ratio is presently 56.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,817 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $108,060.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $627,262.72. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total transaction of $149,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 294,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,998,887.88. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,817 shares of company stock worth $415,140 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 131,246 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,149,000 after purchasing an additional 14,844 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,158 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Horace Mann Educators by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 86,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,408,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,385 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 293.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 92,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 68,617 shares in the last quarter. 99.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.