Stock Buyback Program Authorized by Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Board

Key Points

• Unum Group authorized a $1 billion share buyback, allowing the company to repurchase up to 7% of its outstanding shares through open-market purchases—potentially signaling that management views the stock as undervalued.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.42; eight analysts rate the shares Buy and six rate them Hold.
• Unum reported quarterly EPS of $2.16, in line with estimates, while revenue reached $3.39 billion and increased its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.505 per share, representing a 2.2% yield.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNM shares. UBS Group set a $94.00 target price on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Unum Group from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.42.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE UNM traded up $1.76 on Wednesday, hitting $91.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,548,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,499. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $68.70 and a 52-week high of $94.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.29 and a 200-day moving average of $82.03.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16. Unum Group had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.900 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.64 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $0.505 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This is a positive change from Unum Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Unum Group's payout ratio is presently 47.09%.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group NYSE: UNM is a leading provider of employee benefits in the United States and selected international markets, specializing in disability, life, accident and critical illness insurance. Through both fully insured and self-funded arrangements, the company offers group coverage designed to protect income and mitigate financial hardship for employees and their families. Its portfolio includes short-term and long-term disability plans, group life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) policies, as well as critical illness and hospital indemnity products.

In addition to its core product lines, Unum Group markets voluntary benefits under its Colonial Life brand, allowing employees to purchase supplemental insurance such as accident, cancer, and dental coverage directly through payroll deductions.

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