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

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 666,800 shares, a decline of 21.1% from the February 13th total of 844,900 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 198,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,817 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $108,060.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,262.72. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total transaction of $149,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 294,324 shares in the company, 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 a total of 10,817 shares of company stock worth $415,140 in the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

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

Horace Mann Educators Stock Performance

NYSE HMN traded down $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 153,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,523. Horace Mann Educators has a 52 week low of $31.81 and a 52 week high of $43.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Horace Mann Educators presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.67.

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.