Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $96.92 According to Analysts

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $94.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Unum Group from $108.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Barclays reduced their target price on Unum Group from $109.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $102.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday.

Unum Group Stock Down 2.8%

UNM stock opened at $79.11 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $90.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.13. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $69.02 and a 52-week high of $96.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25. 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 (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 1.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.37 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a $0.5050 dividend. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 143.26%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 26th that permits the company to buy back $1 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total value of $206,350.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,003.74. The trade was a 21.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total value of $404,286.00. Following the sale, the director 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance holding company that provides employee benefits and related services, primarily to employers and their workers. Its offerings include group disability and life insurance, accident and critical illness coverage, and services that help employers manage employee leave and workplace absence. Through its Unum and Colonial Life businesses, the company also provides voluntary benefits that employees can elect through their workplaces. In the United Kingdom, Unum offers workplace benefits including income protection, life insurance and critical illness coverage.