Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $76.75.

UNM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Unum Group from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In related news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,554,355.24. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 102,914 shares of company stock worth $7,677,945. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $37,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Unum Group by 38.2% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group in the second quarter worth about $44,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $77.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.81. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $74.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.27. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $46.39 and a 1 year high of $77.65.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly 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 $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

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.