Horace Mann Educators Lifts FY21 Earnings Outlook

(RTTNews) - Horace Mann Educators Corp. (HMN) Thursday raised its earnings outlook for the full-year driven largely by its net investment income and impact of lower-than-guided catastrophe losses in the second quarter.

Horace Mann raised its 2021 earnings guidance by more than 15% to $3.50 to $3.70 per share from prior estimate of $3.00 to $3.20 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters currently estimate earnings of $3.30 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

The company said the increased guidance largely is attributable to strong second-quarter net investment income returns and lower-than-guided second-quarter catastrophe losses. The company now expects 2021 core return on equity will be above 10%.

The revised full-year 2021 guidance assumes total net investment income will increase to the range of $385 million to $405 million due to second-quarter results, compared with the prior guidance of $370 million to $390 million.

"Horace Mann's alternatives portfolio generated outsized returns in the second quarter, primarily benefiting the Property and Casualty segment," said President and CEO Marita Zuraitis. "Driving higher investment income through increasing our alternative investments portfolio allocation is a strategic driver of sustained double-digit return on equity. Still, several private equity funds saw realizations significantly above expectations during the quarter, leading to the strong return on the alternatives portfolio."

HMN closed Thursday's trading at $37.74, up $0.32 or 0.86%, on the NYSE. The stock further gained $0.76 or 2.01% in the after-hours trade.