Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) Short Interest Update

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) saw a large decline in short interest in 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. 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 short sold.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of HMN stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $41.91. The stock had a trading volume of 161,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 220,054. Horace Mann Educators has a 12-month low of $31.81 and a 12-month high of $43.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.09.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Horace Mann Educators’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio is 56.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Horace Mann Educators news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total value of $149,480.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 294,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,998,887.88. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,262.72. This represents a 14.70 % 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 valued at $415,140. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 183.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,264 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,210 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,463,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $135,890,000 after purchasing an additional 521,437 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 203.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 329,964 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,944,000 after purchasing an additional 221,233 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,209,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,252,000. 99.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on HMN shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on 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 upped their price objective on 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Horace Mann Educators currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.67.

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.