Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

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 morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $84.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $67.00.

UNM has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $73.19 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.86 and a 12 month high of $73.24. The company has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.92.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insider Activity

In other Unum Group news, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at $581,591.16. The trade was a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Unum Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Unum Group by 38.2% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Unum Group by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

About Unum Group

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.