Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $84.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $67.00.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on UNM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $73.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.86 and a 12 month high of $73.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.95.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.18%.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total value of $320,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,768,822.56. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares in the company, valued at $581,591.16. This trade represents a 15.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 91,844 shares of company stock worth $5,411,032. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $326,950,000 after buying an additional 55,014 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Unum Group by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,207,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,728,000 after purchasing an additional 571,436 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Unum Group by 5.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,186,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,511,000 after purchasing an additional 66,392 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in Unum Group by 8.0% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,609,000 after buying an additional 64,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 151.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after buying an additional 307,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.