SG Americas Securities LLC Takes $693,000 Position in Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN)

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE:HMN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 16,216 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $693,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 64,655 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,763,000 after buying an additional 13,782 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 131,246 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,149,000 after buying an additional 14,844 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,158 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 86,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,408,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.28% of the company’s stock.

Horace Mann Educators Price Performance

Shares of Horace Mann Educators stock opened at $42.10 on Friday. Horace Mann Educators Corporation has a twelve month low of $31.81 and a twelve month high of $44.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.28.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators Corporation will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

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

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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 that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total transaction of $120,693.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,643 shares in the company, valued at $584,738.98. This represents a 17.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bret A. Conklin sold 15,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $673,341.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,428,067.84. This represents a 21.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,014 shares of company stock valued at $2,328,368. Company insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on HMN. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Horace Mann Educators from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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.