Horace Mann Educators Corporation $HMN Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its stake in Horace Mann Educators Corporation by 66.7%, owning approximately 1.35% of the company, valued at about $23.5 million.
• Horace Mann Educators reported earnings per share of $1.06 for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.61.
• The company's board has authorized a $50 million stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock's value despite recent fluctuations.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN - Free Report) by 66.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 550,138 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 220,174 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.35% of Horace Mann Educators worth $23,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HMN. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 2,693.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,190 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 4,040 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Horace Mann Educators during the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Horace Mann Educators during the 4th quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Horace Mann Educators during the 1st quarter valued at $275,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Horace Mann Educators news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $211,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 302,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,775,113.40. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 4,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.90, for a total transaction of $204,204.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,587 shares in the company, valued at $2,513,382.30. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,498 shares of company stock worth $1,494,268 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HMN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Horace Mann Educators from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $48.00 price target on Horace Mann Educators and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Horace Mann Educators has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.75.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE HMN traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $45.16. The company had a trading volume of 16,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,081. Horace Mann Educators Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.00 and a fifty-two week high of $46.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The firm's 50 day moving average is $42.69 and its 200 day moving average is $42.09.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.45. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 8.49%.The firm had revenue of $302.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Horace Mann Educators Corporation will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.