Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) Position Boosted by Victory Capital Management Inc.

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. raised its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN - Free Report) by 55.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HMN. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Horace Mann Educators by 806.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 69.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the first quarter valued at approximately $275,000. 99.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Victor Fetter bought 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $44.03 per share, for a total transaction of $154,105.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 14,655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $645,259.65. This trade represents a 31.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.40, for a total value of $207,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 315,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,059,671.40. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,198 shares of company stock worth $2,206,575 in the last quarter. 4.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HMN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets set a $48.00 price objective on Horace Mann Educators and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Horace Mann Educators from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Horace Mann Educators currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.75.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE HMN traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.41. 203,833 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 264,754. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.27. Horace Mann Educators Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.95 and a 1 year high of $44.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.25 and a 200 day moving average of $41.32.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $416.40 million for 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 for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Horace Mann Educators Corporation will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Horace Mann Educators's payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

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.