Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $108.00 to $97.00. The stock had previously closed at $91.03, but opened at $75.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Unum Group shares last traded at $75.01, with a volume of 1,119,738 shares.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Unum Group from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price target on Unum Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of Unum Group 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 transaction, the director owned 36,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,431,918.04. The trade was a 10.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,403,781.32. The trade was a 13.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Unum Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Unum Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unum’s Q3 results beat estimates, with premium growth and investment income providing support; Colonial Life was also highlighted as a source of strength. Elevated disability claims remain a headwind. UNM Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Premium Growth and Investment Income
• Neutral Sentiment: Although KBW lowered its target to $97 and Truist cut its target to $85, both firms retained positive ratings—“outperform” and “buy,” respectively. Their revisions may temper optimism, even as the targets remain above the share price cited in the reports. KBW Cuts Unum Price Target Truist Lowers Unum Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Reports say Unum recorded a $419.7 million Q3 net loss and disclosed an SEC comment-letter process and a change in reserve methodology. The disclosures have prompted shareholder-law-firm investigations; these are investigations, not findings of wrongdoing, but add uncertainty. Investor Investigation Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Unum shares reportedly fell below their 200-day moving average following an analyst downgrade, a technical signal that may reinforce selling pressure. Unum Shares Break Below 200-Day Average

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Unum Group by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 10,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group increased its stake in Unum Group by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 6,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Unum Group by 6.3% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 97,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,594,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 284,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,997,000 after buying an additional 9,596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.04.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Unum Group had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 12.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.5050 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.26%.

Unum Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 26th that allows the company to buy back $1 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Company Profile

Unum Group is an insurance company that provides employee benefits and related protection products through employers, as well as selected individual policies. Its offerings are designed to help people manage the financial impact of illness, injury, death and other unexpected events.

The company’s products include short-term and long-term disability insurance, group and individual life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and supplemental health benefits such as accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance.