Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 73,917 Shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation $HMN

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Horace Mann Educators Corporation by 1.5%, now owning approximately 12.09% of the company.
• A stock buyback program has been authorized, allowing Horace Mann to repurchase up to $50 million in shares, indicating the board believes the stock is undervalued.
• Horace Mann achieved earnings of $1.06 per share in its latest quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.61.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,930,889 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 73,917 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.09% of Horace Mann Educators worth $210,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Horace Mann Educators by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,659,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $104,340,000 after acquiring an additional 47,074 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Horace Mann Educators by 183.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,264 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $84,827,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400,210 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Horace Mann Educators by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 450,908 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,689,000 after acquiring an additional 14,543 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Horace Mann Educators by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 240,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,285,000 after acquiring an additional 5,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Horace Mann Educators by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 137,420 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,391,000 after acquiring an additional 14,739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.28% of the company's stock.

Horace Mann Educators Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:HMN traded up $0.6060 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.0160. 188,882 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,463. Horace Mann Educators Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.00 and a 1-year high of $46.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.27.

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

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

Insider Activity at Horace Mann Educators

In related news, EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 15,472 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $673,341.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,428,067.84. This trade represents a 21.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.24, for a total transaction of $216,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 310,451 shares in the company, valued at $13,423,901.24. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,198 shares of company stock worth $2,210,975 in the last three months. 4.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on HMN. BMO Capital Markets set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Horace Mann Educators from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.75.

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.