Morgan Stanley Cuts Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Price Target to $79.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has reduced its price target for Unum Group from $85.00 to $79.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• Despite the cut, the new price target indicates a potential upside of 14.97% from the company's previous close.
• Unum Group recently reported earnings of $2.07 per share, missing the analyst estimate of $2.23, with revenue up 4% year-over-year.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $79.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.97% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.15.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Unum Group stock traded down $0.10 on Monday, hitting $68.72. The stock had a trading volume of 129,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,431,502. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Unum Group has a one year low of $52.71 and a one year high of $84.48. The stock has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $77.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.13.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The business's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Unum Group by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 79,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,779,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Unum Group by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 57,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,201,000 after purchasing an additional 3,228 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $414,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Unum Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.

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