Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Horace Mann Educators Corporation has received an average consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with three firms rating it a hold, one a buy, and one a strong buy.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.45%, and initiated a $50 million share buyback program.
• Insider trading activity included Director Victor Fetter purchasing 3,500 shares, increasing his position by 31.38%, while EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 15,472 shares, decreasing his stake by 21.71%.

Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.75.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HMN. BMO Capital Markets set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Horace Mann Educators from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Thursday, May 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Horace Mann Educators news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.87, for a total value of $214,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 307,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,167,734.85. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 4,760 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,587 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold 46,198 shares of company stock worth $1,999,575 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,269 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,478 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 48,332 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 22,275 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 19,532 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.28% of the company's stock.

Horace Mann Educators Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HMN traded up $1.07 during trading on Monday, hitting $42.49. 143,326 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 251,490. The business's 50 day moving average is $42.25 and its 200-day moving average is $41.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Horace Mann Educators has a 1-year low of $31.95 and a 1-year high of $44.44.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $416.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.40 million. Horace Mann Educators had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 11.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Horace Mann Educators's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.72%.

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.