Evercore ISI Upgrades Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) to Outperform

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $84.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $67.00.

UNM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM opened at $73.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.92 and a 200-day moving average of $55.95. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.86 and a 52-week high of $73.24.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,957.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,798,849.90. The trade was a 26.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032 over the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 5.3% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 8.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 177,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,530,000 after buying an additional 13,171 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth about $8,988,000. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,170,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unum Group Company Profile

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.