Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 27,062 Shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation $HMN

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC has significantly reduced its position in Horace Mann Educators Corporation by 79.9%, now holding 6,816 shares valued at $292,000 after selling 27,062 shares in the first quarter.
• The company recently announced a $50 million stock repurchase plan, which signals that the board believes its stock is undervalued.
• Horace Mann Educators reported a better-than-expected earnings per share of $1.06 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.45.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN - Free Report) by 79.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,816 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 27,062 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Horace Mann Educators were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 4.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,478 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.7% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 22,275 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.3% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,824 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,385 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 86,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.28% of the company's stock.

Horace Mann Educators Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HMN traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 164,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,680. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $43.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.45. Horace Mann Educators Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.00 and a 12-month high of $47.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.27.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $425.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Horace Mann Educators Corporation will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Horace Mann Educators's dividend payout ratio is 41.42%.

Horace Mann Educators announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HMN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. 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 reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $48.00 price objective on Horace Mann Educators and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Horace Mann Educators has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Insider Activity at Horace Mann Educators

In related news, General Counsel Donald M. Carley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.94, for a total value of $160,790.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 22,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,014,906.48. This represents a 13.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $211,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 302,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,775,113.40. This trade represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock worth $815,340. 4.00% of the stock is owned by 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.