Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.44.

Several research firms recently commented on UNM. Truist Financial raised their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Unum Group in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Unum Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $931,109,000 after purchasing an additional 300,840 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $590,489,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,687,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,734,000 after acquiring an additional 163,682 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,961,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Unum Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,930,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,521,000 after purchasing an additional 73,700 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.63. 781,286 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,266,470. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $58.17.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.06 EPS. Unum Group’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.