JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $79.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $74.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.28% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on UNM. Bank of America lifted their target price on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.55.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE UNM opened at $72.96 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.72. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $44.83 and a 12 month high of $77.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 58,865 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,007,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,917,956.17. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 89.8% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,728,000 after purchasing an additional 571,436 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 5.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,511,000 after buying an additional 66,392 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $30,297,000 after acquiring an additional 307,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Unum Group by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently 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.