Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Given New $66.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from $59.00 to $66.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “in-line” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 2.79% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Unum Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.64.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $64.21 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.44. The firm has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.75 and a 52-week high of $64.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. Unum Group’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 328,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,604,000 after purchasing an additional 117,497 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 44,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,393,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,450,000. Hartline Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $266,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 78,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,150,000 after purchasing an additional 27,599 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.