Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives Overweight Rating from Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reissued their overweight rating on shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $66.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $64.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Unum Group from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $63.80.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNM opened at $59.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.93. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $41.75 and a 1-year high of $59.44.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is a positive change from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 $58,601,422.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Unum Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 36,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $406,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 337.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 189,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,570,000 after purchasing an additional 145,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Unum Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 950,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000,000 after purchasing an additional 33,454 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.