Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Board of Directors Announces Stock Buyback Program

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 18th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.33.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE UNM traded down $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.98. 1,304,667 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,123,051. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.80. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $48.38 and a 12-month high of $79.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.19 and a 200-day moving average of $66.35.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 17.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.61, for a total transaction of $363,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,840 shares in the company, valued at $2,602,342.40. This trade represents a 12.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at $4,217,292.84. The trade was a 15.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,865 shares of company stock worth $6,315,082 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.