Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 743,900 shares, an increase of 8.3% from the June 15th total of 687,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 247,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Horace Mann Educators

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HMN. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 47,184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 35,740 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 228.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,474 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 6,084.6% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. 99.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Performance

Horace Mann Educators stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $34.96. The company had a trading volume of 186,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,381. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Horace Mann Educators has a 52 week low of $27.81 and a 52 week high of $39.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.66 and a 200-day moving average of $35.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 0.28.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The insurance provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $386.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.35 million. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 6.95% and a net margin of 4.26%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Horace Mann Educators will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 13th. Horace Mann Educators’s payout ratio is 87.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Horace Mann Educators from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Horace Mann Educators has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.50.

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.