Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Horace Mann Educators Co. (NYSE:HMN) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 234,717 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,205 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Horace Mann Educators worth $9,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Horace Mann Educators by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 171,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,723,000 after buying an additional 8,331 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Horace Mann Educators by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 62,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after buying an additional 5,879 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Horace Mann Educators by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Horace Mann Educators by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 50,407 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after buying an additional 2,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Horace Mann Educators in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. 99.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Horace Mann Educators news, Director Beverley J. Mcclure sold 2,817 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $108,060.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,262.72. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marita Zuraitis sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.40, for a total transaction of $157,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 298,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,753,965.60. This trade represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,817 shares of company stock worth $583,020 over the last quarter. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Horace Mann Educators Stock Performance

Shares of Horace Mann Educators stock opened at $42.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 0.31. Horace Mann Educators Co. has a 1 year low of $31.81 and a 1 year high of $43.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Horace Mann Educators (NYSE:HMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.58. Horace Mann Educators had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 10.58%. Equities analysts forecast that Horace Mann Educators Co. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Horace Mann Educators Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Horace Mann Educators’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HMN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Horace Mann Educators from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Horace Mann Educators in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Horace Mann Educators presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.67.

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.