Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Trading Down 5.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) dropped 5.9% on Monday after Wolfe Research lowered their price target on the stock from $102.00 to $100.00. Wolfe Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Unum Group traded as low as $87.70 and last traded at $86.9320. Approximately 850,807 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 1,510,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.34.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on UNM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “moderate buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Unum Group from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Unum Group from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Unum Group from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.27.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $961,680.00. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in Unum Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 8,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 7,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 37,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,934,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Down 1.7%

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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $85.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.20. The company has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

About Unum Group

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.