Two Sigma Investments LP Lowers Position in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN)

Two Sigma Investments LP lessened its stake in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,737 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 61,526 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.36% of Horace Mann Educators worth $5,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 2.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 21,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Horace Mann Educators by 389.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Horace Mann Educators by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Performance

NYSE:HMN opened at $42.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.71. Horace Mann Educators Co. has a 1 year low of $31.81 and a 1 year high of $44.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.19. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 10.58% and a net margin of 6.44%. The company had revenue of $416.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Horace Mann Educators Co. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.72%.

Horace Mann Educators declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HMN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Horace Mann Educators from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Horace Mann Educators presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Insider Activity at Horace Mann Educators

In related news, Director Victor Fetter bought 3,500 shares of Horace Mann Educators stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $44.03 per share, with a total value of $154,105.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,259.65. This represents a 31.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $120,693.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,738.98. This represents a 17.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,816 shares of company stock worth $543,144. Corporate insiders own 4.00% 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.