Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Price Target Lowered to $102.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its price target dropped by Wells Fargo & Company from $104.00 to $102.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 43.32% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on UNM. UBS Group decreased their price target on Unum Group from $85.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore set a $103.00 price target on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.58.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.17. 262,694 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,469,356. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Unum Group has a twelve month low of $66.81 and a twelve month high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by ($0.19). Unum Group had a net margin of 5.65% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.900 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $326,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,801,007.36. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $66,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $657,090. This trade represents a 9.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 14,400 shares of company stock worth $1,049,760 in the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at $247,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 138.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 112,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,125,000 after buying an additional 65,670 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 128.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 15,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 8,630 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Unum Group by 394.3% during the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,997,000 after acquiring an additional 19,726 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 120,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,731,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group (NYSE: UNM) is a leading provider of employee benefits in the United States and selected international markets, specializing in disability, life, accident and critical illness insurance. Through both fully insured and self-funded arrangements, the company offers group coverage designed to protect income and mitigate financial hardship for employees and their families. Its portfolio includes short-term and long-term disability plans, group life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) policies, as well as critical illness and hospital indemnity products.

In addition to its core product lines, Unum Group markets voluntary benefits under its Colonial Life brand, allowing employees to purchase supplemental insurance such as accident, cancer, and dental coverage directly through payroll deductions.