Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Unum Group updated its FY 2024 guidance to 8.426-8.809 EPS.

Unum Group Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $64.37 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.37. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.75 and a fifty-two week high of $64.91. The firm has a market cap of $12.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. 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 owned by corporate insiders.

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

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.