Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) Short Interest Down 13.4% in March

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) saw a significant 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 daily volume of 196,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HMN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to 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 1.3 %

NYSE:HMN traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $42.90. 89,884 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 234,189. Horace Mann Educators has a 1 year low of $31.81 and a 1 year high of $43.69. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. 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 (DPR) is presently 56.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Horace Mann Educators news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total value of $149,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 294,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,998,887.88. The trade was a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $627,262.72. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Horace Mann Educators by 12.8% during 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 during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 86,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,408,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position 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 valued at $3,611,000 after acquiring an additional 68,617 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

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.