Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives $86.62 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.62.

Several research firms recently commented on UNM. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James raised shares of Unum Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $81.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. Unum Group has a one year low of $48.38 and a one year high of $83.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its earnings results 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%. Analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $4,099,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. The trade was a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $548,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $235,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $340,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 435.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 33,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 27,008 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.