Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Evercore ISI Analyst Says

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its target price lifted by Evercore ISI from $59.00 to $66.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “in-line” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price suggests a potential upside of 2.79% from the company’s current price.

UNM has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group raised shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.64.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.3 %

UNM opened at $64.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.44. The company has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $41.75 and a 1 year high of $64.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04. Unum Group had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $3,727,369.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Unum Group in the first quarter valued at $1,130,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 80.7% during the first 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 raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 8.0% during the second 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 raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 51.7% during the first 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 during the first quarter valued at about $703,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently 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.