Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Key Points

• Unum Group beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $2.20 versus $2.16 forecast and revenue of $3.40 billion versus the $2.91 billion estimate.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.505 per share, equivalent to a 2.2% yield, and has authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program.
• Analysts have an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a $99.42 average price target; shares were trading at $91.04.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.26%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $91.04. 2,151,632 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,555,648. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $92.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.01. The firm has a market cap of $14.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25. Unum Group has a one year low of $69.02 and a one year high of $96.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.5050 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total transaction 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 $2,403,781.32. This trade represents a 13.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,188 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total transaction of $206,350.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,003.74. The trade was a 21.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Unum Group from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Unum Group from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.42.

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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