Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.78.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Unum Group during the first quarter worth about $1,130,000. Boone Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 961,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,486,000 after acquiring an additional 94,096 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 950,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000,000 after acquiring an additional 33,454 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 973,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,021,000 after acquiring an additional 292,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $590,489,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $54.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.75 and a 1 year high of $58.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.91. The firm has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. Unum Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.