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

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $72.09.

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $73.05 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.73. The company has a market capitalization of $13.34 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.79. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $44.83 and a 1 year high of $77.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This represents a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,768,822.56. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 107,914 shares of company stock worth $7,998,745 in the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,945,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Unum Group during the second quarter worth $2,007,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 11.9% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 232,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,835,000 after acquiring an additional 24,664 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,500,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Unum Group by 50.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 469,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,554,000 after acquiring an additional 156,380 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.