Short Interest in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) Expands By 92.8%

Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) saw a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 712,500 shares, a growth of 92.8% from the September 15th total of 369,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 260,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James assumed coverage on Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Horace Mann Educators Trading Up 0.5 %

HMN stock opened at $34.89 on Friday. Horace Mann Educators has a 12 month low of $29.88 and a 12 month high of $39.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.54 and its 200 day moving average is $34.63. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The insurance provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $388.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.67 million. Horace Mann Educators had a return on equity of 7.44% and a net margin of 5.24%. Horace Mann Educators’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Horace Mann Educators will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Horace Mann Educators’s payout ratio is 69.39%.

Institutional Trading of Horace Mann Educators

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HMN. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Horace Mann Educators by 228.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 1,798.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 949 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Horace Mann Educators by 142.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Horace Mann Educators in the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Horace Mann Educators during the second quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 99.28% 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.