Palisade Capital Management LP Trims Position in Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN)

Palisade Capital Management LP decreased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN - Free Report) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 381,968 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 12,967 shares during the quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.93% of Horace Mann Educators worth $16,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HMN. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,269 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,690 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 21,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,385 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 810 shares during the period. 99.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HMN has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Horace Mann Educators from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:HMN traded up $0.68 on Friday, reaching $42.60. The company had a trading volume of 179,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,570. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Horace Mann Educators Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.81 and a 52-week high of $44.44. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $42.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.01.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.19. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 11.86% and a net margin of 7.04%. The company had revenue of $416.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Horace Mann Educators Corporation will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Horace Mann Educators's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Horace Mann Educators announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Horace Mann Educators

In other Horace Mann Educators news, Director Victor Fetter purchased 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $44.03 per share, with a total value of $154,105.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 14,655 shares in the company, valued at $645,259.65. The trade was a 31.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 4,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.90, for a total transaction of $204,204.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,513,382.30. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,198 shares of company stock worth $2,206,575. 4.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.