Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.64.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UNM shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Unum Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:UNM opened at $63.38 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $57.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.91. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.75 and a 12 month high of $64.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.77.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.71%.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,130,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 80.7% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,436,000 after buying an additional 28,580 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Unum Group by 8.0% during the second 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 buying an additional 64,661 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Unum Group by 51.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,590,000 after buying an additional 1,008,776 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $703,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.