Brokerages Set Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Price Target at $99.42

Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $99.4167.

UNM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $106.00 target price on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group set a $94.00 price target on Unum Group in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Unum Group from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Unum Group from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE UNM opened at $95.11 on Thursday. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $69.02 and a 12 month high of $96.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $90.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.16. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. Unum Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.600-8.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a $0.505 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Unum Group’s payout ratio is presently 47.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In related news, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total transaction of $404,286.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,431,918.04. This represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total transaction of $206,350.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $769,003.74. The trade was a 21.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,108,919,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 7.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,084,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $298,287,000 after purchasing an additional 292,670 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $84,097,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth $58,064,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Unum Group in the second quarter valued at about $55,273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

About Unum Group

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides financial protection and employee benefits through workplace and individual products. Its offerings include disability insurance, life insurance, accident insurance, critical illness coverage, and related benefits designed to help individuals and families manage income loss and other financial risks.

The company serves employers, employees, and individual customers primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Its products are distributed through employers, insurance brokers, benefits advisers, and other intermediaries.