Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 666,800 shares, a drop of 21.1% from the February 13th total of 844,900 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 198,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HMN has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. 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, Horace Mann Educators presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Horace Mann Educators news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total transaction of $149,480.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 294,324 shares in the company, valued at $10,998,887.88. This represents a 1.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 10,817 shares of company stock valued at $415,140 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 183.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,264 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,827,000 after buying an additional 1,400,210 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,463,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $135,890,000 after buying an additional 521,437 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 203.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 329,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,944,000 after buying an additional 221,233 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,209,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.28% of the company's stock.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Horace Mann Educators stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.10. 92,594 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,084. Horace Mann Educators has a twelve month low of $31.81 and a twelve month high of $43.53. The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.25. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.78.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 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 anticipate 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 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 yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Horace Mann Educators's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Horace Mann Educators's payout ratio is currently 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.