Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) was downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen.
• Current consensus among analysts for Horace Mann Educators is a "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $46.75.
• The company's Board of Directors approved a $50 million share buyback program, signaling confidence in the stock's value.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

HMN has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $48.00 price target on shares of Horace Mann Educators and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler increased 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Horace Mann Educators Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of HMN stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, hitting $42.33. 82,053 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 251,850. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $42.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.45. Horace Mann Educators has a one year low of $33.00 and a one 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 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 analysts' expectations of $421.40 million. Horace Mann Educators had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 11.86%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Horace Mann Educators

In other news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $211,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 302,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,775,113.40. The trade was a 1.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Victor Fetter acquired 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $44.03 per share, with a total value of $154,105.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 14,655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $645,259.65. The trade was a 31.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 51,198 shares of company stock worth $2,210,975 over the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HMN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 453,849 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,502,000 after buying an additional 2,048 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the second quarter worth approximately $396,000. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the second quarter worth approximately $273,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 10.8% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 25,043 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators in the second quarter worth approximately $514,000. 99.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.