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

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Horace Mann Educators Price Performance

NYSE HMN opened at $43.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.94. Horace Mann Educators has a 1 year low of $31.81 and a 1 year high of $44.44. The company has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.28.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 EPS 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 company had revenue of $416.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $421.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Horace Mann Educators’s payout ratio is 50.72%.

Insider Transactions at Horace Mann Educators

In related news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $120,693.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $584,738.98. This represents a 17.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 4,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.90, for a total value of $204,204.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,513,382.30. The trade was a 7.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,014 shares of company stock valued at $2,328,368 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,269 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,690 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 4.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 0.7% in the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 48,332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.7% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 22,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

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.