Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.64.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Unum Group by 361.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Unum Group stock opened at $63.72 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.75 and a fifty-two week high of $64.25. The company has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.77.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.