Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Unum Group from $109.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price target on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Unum Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.75.

Unum Group Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of UNM stock opened at $79.11 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.13. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $69.02 and a 12-month high of $96.77. 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 firm has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for 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 prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total transaction of $404,286.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 36,502 shares in the company, valued at $3,431,918.04. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,453 shares in the company, valued at $2,403,781.32. This trade represents a 13.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $84,097,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth $58,064,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at about $55,273,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at about $49,065,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter valued at about $35,412,000. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Unum Group

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.