American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 220,174 Shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation $HMN

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. grew its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN - Free Report) by 66.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 550,138 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 2,693.3% in 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 period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Horace Mann Educators during the 4th quarter worth $255,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Horace Mann Educators during the first quarter worth about $275,000. 99.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on HMN. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $48.00 target price on shares of Horace Mann Educators and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Horace Mann Educators from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.75.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE HMN traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.18. The stock had a trading volume of 200,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,880. Horace Mann Educators Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.00 and a 12 month high of $46.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The company's 50-day moving average price is $42.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Horace Mann Educators announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $211,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 302,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,775,113.40. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 4,760 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.90, for a total value of $204,204.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,513,382.30. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,698 shares of company stock valued at $2,371,765 in the last three months. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Horace Mann Educators

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.