Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Up 7.8% – Here’s Why

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)’s stock price shot up 7.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $78.94 and last traded at $78.6210. 423,652 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 1,402,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Unum Group from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Unum Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.42.

Unum Group Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $13.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.36.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 11.77%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Unum Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 24th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 22.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,113,353,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 4.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,816,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $473,814,000 after purchasing an additional 264,268 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 7.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,341,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,862,000 after purchasing an additional 219,076 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 155.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,278,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 13.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,654,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,775,000 after acquiring an additional 191,572 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

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.