Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Barclays

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $109.00 to $101.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Unum Group from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.92.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM traded up $2.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.58. 3,874,990 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,571,347. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $69.02 and a 12 month high of $96.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $91.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.12 billion, a PE ratio of 54.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.26%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total transaction of $206,350.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,003.74. This trade represents a 21.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total transaction of $404,286.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 36,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,431,918.04. The trade was 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 worth $988,396 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $84,097,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,064,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $55,273,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $49,065,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $35,412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Unum Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Unum Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Despite lowering their targets, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods kept an “outperform” rating at $97 and Truist Financial maintained a “buy” rating at $85. Both targets are above the $76.58 price cited in the coverage. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods target Truist target
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings-call recap highlighted growth opportunities alongside risks, while a sector outlook identified potential support for accident and health insurers from underwriting exposure and digitalization, counterbalanced by medical-cost inflation and pricing pressure. Earnings call highlights Sector outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Unum’s Q3 report included a $419.7 million net loss, an SEC comment-letter process and a change in reserve methodology. Levi & Korsinsky and SueWallSt separately announced investigations into potential securities claims; these are allegations and investigations, not findings of wrongdoing. Levi & Korsinsky investigation notice SueWallSt investigation notice
• Negative Sentiment: KBW cut its price target from $108 to $97, and Truist reduced its target from $96 to $85. Coverage also reported that UNM shares fell below their 200-day moving average after an analyst downgrade—a technical signal that may weigh on sentiment. Moving-average and downgrade report

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides employee benefits and related protection products through employers, as well as selected individual policies. Its offerings are designed to help people manage the financial impact of illness, injury, death and other unexpected events.

The company’s products include short-term and long-term disability insurance, group and individual life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and supplemental health benefits such as accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance.