Ieq Capital LLC Buys 8,034 Shares of Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN)

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) by 71.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,291 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,034 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Horace Mann Educators were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Horace Mann Educators during the 4th quarter worth about $92,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 234,717 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,208,000 after acquiring an additional 11,205 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 171,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,723,000 after acquiring an additional 8,331 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 62,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,462,000 after acquiring an additional 5,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. 99.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Performance

Shares of Horace Mann Educators stock opened at $40.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.31. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.97. Horace Mann Educators Co. has a 52 week low of $31.81 and a 52 week high of $43.26.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Horace Mann Educators Co. will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total value of $167,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 300,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,613,747.74. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,817 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $108,060.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,262.72. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,817 shares of company stock worth $583,020. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.