Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) Downgraded by Zacks Research to "Hold"

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Horace Mann Educators to “Hold” from “Strong Buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Buy” with an average price target of $59.
• The stock opened at $45.81, up 0.4%, and remains below its 52-week high of $55.56. The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.17, beating estimates by $0.38, while revenue rose 7.7% year over year to $443.5 million.
• Insiders have sold 20,941 shares worth approximately $1.08 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors continue to hold a dominant 99.28% of the company’s shares.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HMN. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Horace Mann Educators from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Horace Mann Educators presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $59.00.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Up 0.4%

Horace Mann Educators stock opened at $45.81 on Monday. Horace Mann Educators has a fifty-two week low of $41.29 and a fifty-two week high of $55.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $49.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.08.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The insurance provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.38. Horace Mann Educators had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The firm had revenue of $443.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Horace Mann Educators will post 4.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Horace Mann Educators news, Director Perry Hines sold 3,237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total value of $169,036.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,118 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,661.96. The trade was a 11.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.01, for a total transaction of $25,305.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 300,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,836,771.34. This represents a 0.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,941 shares of company stock valued at $1,078,975. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 0.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 45,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 24.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 5.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,314 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 11.8% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 5,640 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Horace Mann Educators during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.28% of the company's stock.

About Horace Mann Educators

Horace Mann Educators Corporation NYSE: HMN is an insurance and financial services company focused on serving educators and other employees of public schools. Through its subsidiaries and affiliated agencies, the company provides insurance products and retirement solutions designed to address the needs of the education community.

Its offerings include automobile and homeowners insurance, life insurance, annuities, and other supplemental insurance products. Horace Mann also provides retirement products and services intended to help educators plan for long-term financial needs.

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