Analysts Set Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Target Price at $66.09

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.73.

UNM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unum Group news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,768,822.56. The trade was a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,844 shares of company stock worth $5,411,032 over the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Unum Group by 361.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Unum Group stock opened at $73.19 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.86 and a 52-week high of $73.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.95.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.