Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $73.31 and last traded at $73.29, with a volume of 1569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNM. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of 7.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.24.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. Unum Group’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents a 5.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This trade represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032 in the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 140,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,577,000 after purchasing an additional 27,826 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $365,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $247,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 162,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,725,000 after purchasing an additional 6,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.