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

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

Separately, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Horace Mann Educators presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.00.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Performance

Shares of HMN opened at $42.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.28. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $42.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.94. Horace Mann Educators has a 12 month low of $31.81 and a 12 month high of $44.44.

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. Horace Mann Educators had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 11.86%. The firm had revenue of $416.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $421.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Horace Mann Educators will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at Horace Mann Educators

In other Horace Mann Educators news, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $215,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 320,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,808,233.59. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Victor Fetter acquired 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $44.03 per share, with a total value of $154,105.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 14,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,259.65. The trade was a 31.38% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,014 shares of company stock valued at $2,328,368. 4.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HMN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 183.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,162,264 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400,210 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,463,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $135,890,000 after purchasing an additional 521,437 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 203.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 329,964 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,944,000 after purchasing an additional 221,233 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,089,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 7,143.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 115,243 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $49,240,000 after purchasing an additional 113,652 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.28% of the company's stock.

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.

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