Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Upgraded by Evercore ISI to Outperform Rating

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $84.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $67.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of UNM stock opened at $73.19 on Thursday. Unum Group has a one year low of $41.86 and a one year high of $73.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.92. The stock has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.76.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 5.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,957.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,819 shares in the company, valued at $2,798,849.90. This represents a 26.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,844 shares of company stock worth $5,411,032 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 89.8% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,728,000 after purchasing an additional 571,436 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,237,000 after acquiring an additional 432,240 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after acquiring an additional 307,175 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,988,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,640,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

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.