Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) Short Interest Up 8.9% in July

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 810,300 shares, a growth of 8.9% from the June 30th total of 743,900 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 251,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HMN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Horace Mann Educators from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Horace Mann Educators from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Horace Mann Educators currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 6,084.6% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 228.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Horace Mann Educators in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Horace Mann Educators in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 714.8% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 4,103 shares in the last quarter. 99.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Horace Mann Educators Price Performance

Shares of HMN traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.69. The stock had a trading volume of 69,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 228,815. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.57 and a 200 day moving average of $35.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.28. Horace Mann Educators has a 12 month low of $27.81 and a 12 month high of $39.25.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The insurance provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $386.00 million during 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%. Equities analysts predict that Horace Mann Educators will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 13th. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.18%.

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.