Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Now Covered by Barclays

Analysts at Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $73.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 32.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on UNM. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.90.

Unum Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $55.14 on Wednesday. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $58.17. The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.81.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Unum Group by 9.5% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 36,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 3,143 shares in the last quarter. Newport Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth $449,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 139,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 17,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 347.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 101,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,186,000 after purchasing an additional 78,801 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.