Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Upgraded to Hold at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $63.64.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.0 %

UNM opened at $61.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.43. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.75 and a fifty-two week high of $62.21.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNM. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,130,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Unum Group by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,436,000 after purchasing an additional 28,580 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Unum Group by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,609,000 after purchasing an additional 64,661 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Unum Group by 51.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,008,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter worth $703,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% 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.