Financial Analysis: Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) versus Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHFAL)

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) and Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHFAL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Unum Group and Brighthouse Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Unum Group	5.26%	12.60%	2.18%
Brighthouse Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Unum Group and Brighthouse Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Unum Group	$13.08 billion	1.06	$738.50 million	$4.29	20.45
Brighthouse Financial	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Unum Group has higher revenue and earnings than Brighthouse Financial.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Unum Group and Brighthouse Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Unum Group	0	6	8	0	2.57
Brighthouse Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

Unum Group presently has a consensus target price of $99.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.82%. Given Unum Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Unum Group is more favorable than Brighthouse Financial.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

86.6% of Unum Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Unum Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Unum Group beats Brighthouse Financial on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also provides group pension, individual life and corporate-owned life insurance, reinsurance pools and management operations, and other miscellaneous products. The company sells its products primarily to employers for the benefit of employees. It sells its products through field sales personnel, independent brokers, consultants, and independent contractor agent sales force and brokers. Unum Group was founded in 1848 and is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

About Brighthouse Financial

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. operates as a holding company, which engages in the provision of life insurance and annuities through independent distribution channels and marketing arrangements with diverse network of distribution partners. It operates through the following segments: Annuities; Life; Run-Off; and Corporate & Others. The Annuities segment product offerings include fixed, structured, income and variable annuities. The Life segment manufactures products to serve its target segments through a broad independent distribution network. The Run-Off segment includes structured settlements, pension risk transfer contracts, certain company-owned life insurance policies, funding agreements and universal life with secondary guarantees. The Corporate & Other segment refers to the general account investments and the separate account assets of the company. The company was founded June 1863 and is headquartered in Charlotte, NC.