Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) Stock Bumped Up to Buy by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Horace Mann Educators from “hold” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus stands at “Strong Buy” with a $59.00 price target.
• The insurer reported quarterly EPS of $1.17, beating estimates of $0.79, while revenue reached $443.5 million and increased 7.7% year over year.
• HMN shares opened at $45.48, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages; insiders sold approximately $1.05 million of stock over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 99.28% of the company.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HMN. Zacks Research raised Horace Mann Educators from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Performance

HMN stock opened at $45.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.30. Horace Mann Educators has a fifty-two week low of $41.29 and a fifty-two week high of $55.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $443.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.70 million. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 10.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. Analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators will post 4.78 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Horace Mann Educators news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.99, for a total transaction of $382,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 299,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,278,082.71. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Donald Carley sold 2,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.28, for a total transaction of $107,383.12. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 28,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,503,572.80. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,391 shares of company stock valued at $1,053,669. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the 2nd quarter worth about $304,006,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,184,648 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $93,243,000 after acquiring an additional 12,556 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,363,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,287,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Horace Mann Educators during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,061,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.28% of the company's stock.

Horace Mann Educators Company Profile

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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