Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Unum Group (NYSE:UNMGet Free Report)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $73.31 and last traded at $73.29, with a volume of 1569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.73.

View Our Latest Report on UNM

Unum Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.80, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $62.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.24.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNMGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. Unum Group had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

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 purchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $1,030,957.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,798,849.90. This trade represents a 26.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $3,727,369.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This trade represents a 5.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 91,844 shares of company stock valued at $5,411,032. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter worth about $26,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

About Unum Group

(Get Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles

Receive News & Ratings for Unum Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Unum Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.