Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Price

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $108.00 to $97.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.67% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a report on Monday, October 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $109.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.92.

Unum Group Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:UNM traded up $2.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $76.58. 3,874,990 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,571,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $69.02 and a 1-year high of $96.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.05. The firm has a market cap of $12.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.26%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lisa Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,781.32. This represents a 13.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total value of $404,286.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,431,918.04. The trade was a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter valued at about $226,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 22.2% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 10,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 20.9% during the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 6,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 97,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,594,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Unum Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Unum Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Despite lowering their targets, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods kept an “outperform” rating at $97 and Truist Financial maintained a “buy” rating at $85. Both targets are above the $76.58 price cited in the coverage. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods target Truist target
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings-call recap highlighted growth opportunities alongside risks, while a sector outlook identified potential support for accident and health insurers from underwriting exposure and digitalization, counterbalanced by medical-cost inflation and pricing pressure. Earnings call highlights Sector outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Unum’s Q3 report included a $419.7 million net loss, an SEC comment-letter process and a change in reserve methodology. Levi & Korsinsky and SueWallSt separately announced investigations into potential securities claims; these are allegations and investigations, not findings of wrongdoing. Levi & Korsinsky investigation notice SueWallSt investigation notice
• Negative Sentiment: KBW cut its price target from $108 to $97, and Truist reduced its target from $96 to $85. Coverage also reported that UNM shares fell below their 200-day moving average after an analyst downgrade—a technical signal that may weigh on sentiment. Moving-average and downgrade report

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides employee benefits and related protection products through employers, as well as selected individual policies. Its offerings are designed to help people manage the financial impact of illness, injury, death and other unexpected events.

The company’s products include short-term and long-term disability insurance, group and individual life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and supplemental health benefits such as accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance.