LPL Financial LLC Sells 5,453 Shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation $HMN

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its holdings in Horace Mann Educators Corporation by 14.3%, selling 5,453 shares and retaining 32,692 shares, valued at approximately $1.4 million.
• Horace Mann Educators reported $1.06 earnings per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding estimates of $0.61, while its revenue was $302.60 million, lower than the $425.35 million forecasted by analysts.
• Institutional ownership of Horace Mann Educators is high, with approximately 99.28% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong confidence in the company’s future.

LPL Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,692 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,453 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.08% of Horace Mann Educators worth $1,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HMN. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 22,900 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,121,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,704 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,441,000 after buying an additional 17,692 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,597 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 89,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 4,326 shares during the period. 99.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HMN. Wall Street Zen cut Horace Mann Educators from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler upped 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 issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.75.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HMN traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.18. The company 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 stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.27. The business's 50-day moving average is $42.56 and its 200 day moving average is $42.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $425.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators Corporation will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Horace Mann Educators

In other news, EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 4,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.90, for a total transaction 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 represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Donald M. Carley sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.94, for a total value of $160,790.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 22,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,014,906.48. The trade was a 13.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,698 shares of company stock valued at $2,371,765. Insiders own 4.00% of the company's stock.

Horace Mann Educators 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.