Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives $86.62 Average Price Target from Analysts

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.62.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares in the company, 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. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth $219,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 4,859 shares during the period. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth about $2,189,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $4,166,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,841,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $81.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.07. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $48.38 and a fifty-two week high of $83.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.74%.

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.