Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays cut its Unum Group price target from $109 to $101 but maintained an “overweight” rating; the new target implies 35.9% upside from the cited share price. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $98.75.
• Unum shares fell $16.70 to $74.33 in Wednesday trading. The company reported adjusted quarterly EPS of $2.20, above estimates, but also recorded a $419.7 million GAAP net loss, including substantial investment losses.
• Unum authorized a $1 billion share repurchase plan, allowing it to buy back up to 7% of its shares.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Barclays from $109.00 to $101.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Barclays's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 35.89% from the company's current price.

UNM has been the subject of several other reports. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 target price on shares of Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Unum Group from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price target on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Unum Group from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.75.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM stock traded down $16.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.33. The company had a trading volume of 6,603,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,575,556. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.07. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $69.02 and a fifty-two week high of $96.77.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. Unum Group had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 26th that permits the company to buy back $1 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total transaction of $404,286.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 36,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,431,918.04. The trade was a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,403,781.32. This represents a 13.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 97,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,594,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of Unum Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 284,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,997,000 after purchasing an additional 9,596 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $626,000. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 26.5% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 42,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,725,000 after purchasing an additional 8,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Unum Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Unum Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unum reported adjusted Q3 earnings of $2.20 per share, above analyst estimates of roughly $2.16–$2.18 and up from $2.09 a year earlier. Premium growth and strength at Colonial Life helped support results. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Fortitude Re closed a $3.8 billion long-term-care reinsurance agreement with Unum, a risk-management step that may help address the company’s long-term-care exposure. Fortitude Re agreement announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The headline GAAP result was a $419.7 million net loss, or $2.65 per diluted share, versus a profit a year earlier. The loss included $853 million in pretax investment losses, while elevated disability claims added pressure—factors that likely outweighed the adjusted-earnings beat for investors. Unum Q3 results

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides employee benefits and related protection products through employers, as well as selected individual policies. Its offerings are designed to help people manage the financial impact of illness, injury, death and other unexpected events.

The company's products include short-term and long-term disability insurance, group and individual life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and supplemental health benefits such as accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance.

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