Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Has Average Price Target of $96.92 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Eight of 14 analysts rate Unum Group a buy and six recommend holding, with an average 12-month price target of $96.92.
• Adjusted third-quarter EPS beat expectations: Unum reported $2.20 per share versus the $2.16 consensus, though elevated disability claims weighed on results and the quarter included a reported net loss.
• Capital and risk moves: The company authorized up to $1 billion in share repurchases and completed a $3.8 billion long-term-care reinsurance transaction intended to reduce its exposure to those risks.

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $96.92.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Unum Group from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Unum Group from $108.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $73.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $69.02 and a 52-week high of $96.77. The company's fifty day moving average is $91.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.04.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 1.94%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $0.5050 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Unum Group's payout ratio is 143.26%.

Unum Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Unum Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unum completed a $3.8 billion long-term-care reinsurance transaction with Fortitude Re, which may reduce its exposure to long-term-care risks. Fortitude Re closes $3.8B long-term care reinsurance deal with Unum
• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted third-quarter EPS of $2.20 topped estimates, with premium growth and investment income helping offset elevated disability claims. UNM Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Premium Growth and Investment Income
• Neutral Sentiment: KBW, Truist, and Barclays cut their price targets, but retained positive ratings—outperform, buy, and overweight, respectively—suggesting analysts still see potential upside.
• Negative Sentiment: The quarter included a reported net loss of $419.7 million, while revenue was reported below analysts’ expectations. Elevated disability claims also weighed on results, overshadowing the adjusted EPS beat. Unum Group Q3 loss and reinsurance deal
• Negative Sentiment: Unum disclosed an SEC comment-letter process and a reserve-methodology change; shareholder-investigation notices followed. The related regulatory and legal uncertainty could weigh on investor sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Industry commentary also flags rising medical costs and inflation as potential sources of pricing pressure for accident and health insurers, including Unum. Accident and health insurers face cost pressure

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,403,781.32. This trade represents a 13.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Timothy F. Keaney sold 4,300 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total value of $404,286.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 36,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,431,918.04. This represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,084,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $298,287,000 after purchasing an additional 292,670 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth about $84,097,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth about $58,064,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth about $55,273,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 14.6% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 754,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,089,000 after buying an additional 96,123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

About Unum Group

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.