Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $88.29.

UNM has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unum Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group set a $89.00 price target on shares of Unum Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 51,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,093,600. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNM. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,003,918,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,078 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $113,962,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter valued at $105,199,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Unum Group by 155.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,278,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $185,604,000 after buying an additional 1,387,139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $80.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $79.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $49.63 and a 1 year high of $84.48.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.79%.

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.

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