Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Wells Fargo & Company

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $91.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings cut Unum Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $108.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 target price on shares of Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Unum Group from $109.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. 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 report on Tuesday, November 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.75.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE UNM traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $79.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,328,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,441,836. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $69.02 and a 1-year 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’s 50 day moving average is $90.01 and its 200-day moving average is $84.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 12.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.5050 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 143.26%.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,188 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,502 shares in the company, valued at $3,431,918.04. The trade was a 10.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Composition Wealth LLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 5.5% during the third quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 8,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Unum Group

Here are a few of the latest headlines about UNM:

• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut its rating from Hold to Strong Sell, a notably bearish signal for the shares. Zacks Research ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Dowling & Partners lowered its EPS forecasts for FY2026 to $8.40 from $8.60 and FY2028 to $10.10 from $10.35, pointing to reduced earnings expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Law firms announced securities investigations following Unum’s reported 17.8% share decline. These are allegations and investigations, not findings of wrongdoing, but may add uncertainty for investors. Securities investigation announcement

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.