Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Price Breaks Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $109.00 to $101.00. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $84.05 and traded as low as $73.11. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Unum Group shares last traded at $74.8650, with a volume of 10,117,447 shares trading hands.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $94.00 target price on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In related news, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total transaction of $404,286.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,431,918.04. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,188 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total transaction of $206,350.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,003.74. The trade was a 21.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Unum Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unum completed a $3.8 billion long-term-care reinsurance agreement with Fortitude Re, which may help manage its exposure to long-term-care liabilities. Fortitude Re agreement announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted third-quarter EPS of $2.20 beat analyst estimates. Premium growth and investment income helped, while Colonial Life was strong. Q3 earnings analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target from $109 to $101 but kept an Overweight rating, signaling continued optimism despite the reduction. Barclays target update
• Negative Sentiment: The quarter included a $419.7 million GAAP net loss, versus $39.7 million in net income a year earlier. An $853 million pretax investment loss, primarily from impairment charges, drove the result; elevated disability claims also weighed on performance. Unum Q3 results
• Negative Sentiment: Unum disclosed an SEC comment-letter process and a reserve-methodology change. Levi & Korsinsky also announced an investor investigation; the announcement is not a finding of wrongdoing, but adds uncertainty. Investor investigation notice

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $708,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 1,140.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 340,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,436,000 after buying an additional 312,999 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,097,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,482,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP boosted its position in Unum Group by 266.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 27,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after buying an additional 20,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Down 17.8%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $92.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 12.52%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.5050 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.09%.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to buy back $1 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Unum Group

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.