Unum Group Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.42 (NYSE:UNM)

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 11th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.42 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th.

Unum Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.8% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. Unum Group has a payout ratio of 18.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Unum Group to earn $8.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.9%.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $63.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.77. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.75 and a 12 month high of $64.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.64.

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.