Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Evercore ISI

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) was upgraded by analysts at Evercore ISI from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $84.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $67.00. Evercore ISI’s price objective points to a potential upside of 14.76% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Unum Group from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of UNM opened at $73.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.92 and a 200 day moving average of $55.89. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.86 and a 12 month high of $73.24.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. Unum Group’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Hanley Ronald P. O sold 14,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $1,030,957.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,849.90. The trade was a 26.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s 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 owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. This represents 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 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNM. Vestcor Inc raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 156.2% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 88,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,274,000 after buying an additional 54,095 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 18,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 4,931 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 94.5% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 9,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 4,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 133,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,961,000 after purchasing an additional 16,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

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.