Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan upgraded Unum Group to “overweight” from “neutral,” while lowering its price target to $90 from $98; the new target implies 17.53% upside from the cited previous close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: MarketBeat reported a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $96.25, with nine Buy and five Hold ratings.
• Unum reported quarterly EPS of $2.20, beating the $2.16 estimate, and revenue of $3.40 billion versus expectations of $2.97 billion. The board also authorized a $1 billion share-repurchase program, covering up to 7% of shares.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report issued on Monday, FinViz reports. The brokerage presently has a $90.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, down from their previous price target of $98.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price points to a potential upside of 17.53% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on UNM. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price objective on Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Unum Group in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Unum Group from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.25.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of UNM stock opened at $76.58 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $91.32 and a 200-day moving average of $84.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $69.02 and a 12-month high of $96.77. The firm has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.31, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.25.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. Unum Group had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to buy back $1 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,188 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total transaction of $206,350.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,154 shares in the company, valued at $769,003.74. This represents a 21.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total transaction of $404,286.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,431,918.04. The trade was a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Unum Group by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 10,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group grew its position in Unum Group by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 6,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in Unum Group by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Despite lowering their targets, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods kept an “outperform” rating at $97 and Truist Financial maintained a “buy” rating at $85. Both targets are above the $76.58 price cited in the coverage. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods target Truist target
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings-call recap highlighted growth opportunities alongside risks, while a sector outlook identified potential support for accident and health insurers from underwriting exposure and digitalization, counterbalanced by medical-cost inflation and pricing pressure. Earnings call highlights Sector outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Unum’s Q3 report included a $419.7 million net loss, an SEC comment-letter process and a change in reserve methodology. Levi & Korsinsky and SueWallSt separately announced investigations into potential securities claims; these are allegations and investigations, not findings of wrongdoing. Levi & Korsinsky investigation notice SueWallSt investigation notice
• Negative Sentiment: KBW cut its price target from $108 to $97, and Truist reduced its target from $96 to $85. Coverage also reported that UNM shares fell below their 200-day moving average after an analyst downgrade—a technical signal that may weigh on sentiment. Moving-average and downgrade report

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance holding company that provides employee benefits and related services, primarily to employers and their workers. Its offerings include group disability and life insurance, accident and critical illness coverage, and services that help employers manage employee leave and workplace absence.

Through its Unum and Colonial Life businesses, the company also provides voluntary benefits that employees can elect through their workplaces. In the United Kingdom, Unum offers workplace benefits including income protection, life insurance and critical illness coverage.

The company traces its roots to 1848, when Union Mutual was established in Maine.

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