Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives $88.50 Consensus PT from Analysts

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $88.50.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UNM shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unum Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James raised Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $80.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.07. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $48.38 and a 1-year high of $84.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.19 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 156,380 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 5,047 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,816,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,481,000 after purchasing an additional 51,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 362.9% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 19,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 15,257 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.