Unum Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:UNM)

Key Points

• Unum Group saw unusual options activity on Tuesday, with traders buying 11,180 call options — about 675% above the average daily volume.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $93.83. Recent firms have mostly raised targets or maintained buy/neutral ratings.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $2.14 versus $2.07 expected and revenue of $3.36 billion, while also paying a $0.46 quarterly dividend that annualizes to a 2.0% yield.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 11,180 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 675% compared to the average daily volume of 1,442 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Unum Group from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Unum Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Unum Group from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Unum Group from $83.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.83.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $89.92. The company had a trading volume of 435,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,515,876. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $14.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.24. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.28 and a fifty-two week high of $93.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.60.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.90 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.77 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Unum Group's payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.14, for a total value of $961,680.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,412,922.18. This represents a 21.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 70.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 2,092 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $73,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 580,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,374,000 after buying an additional 90,650 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,575,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group NYSE: UNM is a leading provider of employee benefits in the United States and selected international markets, specializing in disability, life, accident and critical illness insurance. Through both fully insured and self-funded arrangements, the company offers group coverage designed to protect income and mitigate financial hardship for employees and their families. Its portfolio includes short-term and long-term disability plans, group life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) policies, as well as critical illness and hospital indemnity products.

In addition to its core product lines, Unum Group markets voluntary benefits under its Colonial Life brand, allowing employees to purchase supplemental insurance such as accident, cancer, and dental coverage directly through payroll deductions.

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