Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.09.

UNM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group raised Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Unum Group from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,217,292.84. This represents a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 107,914 shares of company stock valued at $7,998,745 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $341,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Unum Group by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 36,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $73.10 on Tuesday. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $44.83 and a 12-month high of $77.63. The company has a market cap of $13.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.23.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.