Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Receives $56.38 Average Target Price from Analysts

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.38.

UNM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Elizabeth Claire Ahmed sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,772,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.15, for a total transaction of $2,457,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,922,409.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,000 shares of company stock worth $4,018,100. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 65.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 45.8% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 679.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,589,000 after buying an additional 28,154 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 120.6% in the third quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 9.5% in the third quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 15,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:UNM opened at $50.75 on Thursday. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $40.04 and a 12 month high of $54.57. The stock has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.07). Unum Group had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 16.03%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.50%.

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.