Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, an increase of 27.5% from the October 31st total of 1,930,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UNM shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Unum Group Trading Down 0.4 %

UNM stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $76.62. The company had a trading volume of 507,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,305. The stock has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.87 and a 200-day moving average of $57.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a one year low of $42.09 and a one year high of $77.63.

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

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,957.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 38,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,849.90. This represents a 26.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 165,709 shares of company stock worth $10,956,914. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 38.2% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Unum Group by 3.1% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 6,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Unum Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by 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.