Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $76.75.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,292.84. The trade was a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.39, for a total value of $4,437,832.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,007,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,917,956.17. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,297,000 after purchasing an additional 307,175 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Unum Group by 183.5% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 170,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,694,000 after purchasing an additional 110,100 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5,844.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 101,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,006,000 after acquiring an additional 99,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its stake in Unum Group by 69.5% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 236,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,044,000 after purchasing an additional 96,916 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $75.01 on Friday. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $46.39 and a 12 month high of $77.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.67.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

About Unum Group

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.