Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $62.00 to $64.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 0.33% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.64.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $64.21 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.75 and a 52-week high of $64.91. The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $58.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.44.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.04. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,776 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,728,000 after purchasing an additional 571,436 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,237,000 after purchasing an additional 432,240 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,609,000 after purchasing an additional 64,661 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 413,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,127,000 after purchasing an additional 35,723 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.