EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,493 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Horace Mann Educators by 389.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 806.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,378 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the fourth quarter valued at $216,000. Institutional investors own 99.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Horace Mann Educators

In other news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $215,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 320,451 shares in the company, valued at $13,808,233.59. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $120,693.76. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,643 shares in the company, valued at $584,738.98. This trade represents a 17.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,816 shares of company stock worth $543,144 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of HMN stock traded up $0.93 on Friday, hitting $43.51. The stock had a trading volume of 523,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,582. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.53. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 0.28. Horace Mann Educators Co. has a one year low of $31.81 and a one year high of $44.27.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.19. Horace Mann Educators had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The business had revenue of $416.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Horace Mann Educators Co. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Horace Mann Educators Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Horace Mann Educators's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Horace Mann Educators from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Horace Mann Educators currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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.