Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. has increased its holdings in Horace Mann Educators Corporation by 55.1%, owning a total of 33,644 shares worth approximately $1.44 million after acquiring an additional 11,954 shares.
• CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of Horace Mann stock, reducing her ownership by 1.60%, while Director Victor Fetter purchased 3,500 shares, increasing his stake by 31.38%.
• Recent analyst reports have largely rated Horace Mann Educators as a "Moderate Buy", with a price target averaging around $46.75, reflecting a growing interest from institutional investors, who own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN - Free Report) by 55.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,954 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Horace Mann Educators worth $1,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HMN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 183.7% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 1,400,210 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,463,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $135,890,000 after purchasing an additional 521,437 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 203.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 329,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,944,000 after purchasing an additional 221,233 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 7,143.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 115,243 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,240,000 after purchasing an additional 113,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,209,000. Institutional investors own 99.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HMN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Horace Mann Educators from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets set a $48.00 price target on Horace Mann Educators and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Horace Mann Educators news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.87, for a total transaction of $214,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 307,155 shares in the company, valued at $13,167,734.85. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Victor Fetter bought 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $44.03 per share, for a total transaction of $154,105.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,655 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $645,259.65. This represents a 31.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,198 shares of company stock worth $1,999,575 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.00% of the company's stock.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Performance

Shares of HMN traded down $1.31 on Friday, reaching $41.22. 325,213 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 270,196. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $42.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.38. Horace Mann Educators Corporation has a 52-week low of $31.95 and a 52-week high of $44.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93 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 (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $416.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $421.40 million. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 11.86% and a net margin of 7.04%. Horace Mann Educators's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators Corporation will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Horace Mann Educators's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Horace Mann Educators announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.