Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $88.50.

A number of analysts have commented on UNM shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Unum Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Unum Group Price Performance

UNM stock traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $79.51. 1,127,088 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,305,982. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.79. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $84.48. The company has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 13.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.79%.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 980,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,496,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,078 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,003,918,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Unum Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,552,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $405,481,000 after purchasing an additional 51,744 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,930,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $140,973,000 after buying an additional 480,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Unum Group by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,708,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,768,000 after buying an additional 227,644 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

About Unum Group

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.