Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

HMN has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Horace Mann Educators from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Friday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Horace Mann Educators currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Horace Mann Educators Price Performance

HMN stock opened at $45.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.08. Horace Mann Educators has a 1 year low of $41.29 and a 1 year high of $55.56.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The insurance provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $443.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.70 million. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 10.15%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Horace Mann Educators will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Horace Mann Educators news, General Counsel Donald M. Carley sold 2,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.28, for a total value of $107,383.12. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 28,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,572.80. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.99, for a total transaction of $382,425.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 299,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,278,082.71. This trade represents a 2.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,049,069. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $304,006,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Horace Mann Educators by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,184,648 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $93,243,000 after purchasing an additional 12,556 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Horace Mann Educators in the second quarter valued at approximately $72,363,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Horace Mann Educators during the second quarter worth $29,287,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Horace Mann Educators during the second quarter worth $20,061,000. 99.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Horace Mann Educators

Horace Mann Educators Corporation (NYSE: HMN) is an insurance and financial services company focused on serving educators and other employees of public schools. Through its subsidiaries and affiliated agencies, the company provides insurance products and retirement solutions designed to address the needs of the education community.

Its offerings include automobile and homeowners insurance, life insurance, annuities, and other supplemental insurance products. Horace Mann also provides retirement products and services intended to help educators plan for long-term financial needs.