Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 484,800 shares, a decline of 16.1% from the March 15th total of 577,700 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 217,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HMN shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Horace Mann Educators

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Horace Mann Educators news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $120,693.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,738.98. The trade was a 17.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $215,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 320,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,808,233.59. This represents a 1.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,816 shares of company stock valued at $485,624 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HMN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the first quarter valued at approximately $275,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Horace Mann Educators during the first quarter valued at about $693,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 69.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Horace Mann Educators by 27.1% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 64,655 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 13,782 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 14,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Down 1.1 %

HMN stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.52. 12,776 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 241,068. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.21. Horace Mann Educators has a fifty-two week low of $31.81 and a fifty-two week high of $43.69.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Horace Mann Educators will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. 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 is presently 56.45%.

About Horace Mann Educators

(Get Free Report)

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.

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