Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.38.

Several brokerages recently commented on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $52.67 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $41.75 and a 52 week high of $54.57. The firm has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.87.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.15. Unum Group had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 10.52%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 21.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total value of $420,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.61, for a total transaction of $420,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,973,138.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,042,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,500 shares of company stock worth $4,425,095 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $931,109,000 after purchasing an additional 300,840 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $590,489,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,585,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $619,086,000 after buying an additional 236,136 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its stake in Unum Group by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,687,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,734,000 after acquiring an additional 163,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,545,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,416,000 after acquiring an additional 313,482 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

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.