Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 484,800 shares, a decline of 16.1% from the March 15th total of 577,700 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 217,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HMN shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Horace Mann Educators news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $120,693.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,738.98. The trade was a 17.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $215,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 320,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,808,233.59. This represents a 1.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,816 shares of company stock valued at $485,624 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HMN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the first quarter valued at approximately $275,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Horace Mann Educators during the first quarter valued at about $693,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 buying an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Horace Mann Educators by 27.1% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 64,655 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 13,782 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $5,149,000 after acquiring an additional 14,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Down 1.1 %

HMN stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.52. 12,776 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 241,068. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $41.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.21. Horace Mann Educators has a fifty-two week low of $31.81 and a fifty-two week high of $43.69.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.58. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Horace Mann Educators will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. This is an increase from Horace Mann Educators’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.45%.

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.