Short Interest in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) Declines By 13.4%

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 577,700 shares, a decrease of 13.4% from the February 28th total of 666,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 196,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HMN. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.67.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HMN traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.02. The company had a trading volume of 22,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,449. Horace Mann Educators has a 52-week low of $31.81 and a 52-week high of $43.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.25. 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 50 day simple moving average of $40.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.28.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. Sell-side analysts predict that Horace Mann Educators will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Horace Mann Educators’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.45%.

Insider Transactions at Horace Mann Educators

In other news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,817 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $108,060.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,262.72. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.40, for a total value of $157,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 298,324 shares in the company, valued at $11,753,965.60. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,817 shares of company stock worth $415,140. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Horace Mann Educators by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,942,494 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,194,000 after purchasing an additional 359,083 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 234,717 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,208,000 after buying an additional 11,205 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Horace Mann Educators by 336.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,012 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,446,000 after acquiring an additional 53,961 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 558,310 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,513,000 after acquiring an additional 6,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 954,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,351,000 after acquiring an additional 22,358 shares during the last quarter. 99.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Horace Mann Educators

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.