Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Given New $101.00 Price Target at Barclays

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Barclays from $109.00 to $101.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 35.89% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group set a $94.00 price target on Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price objective on Unum Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unum Group in a report on Monday, October 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.75.

Unum Group Price Performance

NYSE UNM traded down $16.70 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.33. 6,603,938 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,575,556. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $92.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.07. The company has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $69.02 and a 1-year high of $96.77.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. Unum Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 5.26%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.64 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 26th that allows the company to repurchase $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. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CAO Lynn Jr sold 2,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total value of $206,350.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,003.74. The trade was a 21.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa Iglesias sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.44, for a total value of $377,760.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,453 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock worth $988,396. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $708,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Unum Group by 1,140.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 340,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,436,000 after purchasing an additional 312,999 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter worth approximately $84,097,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,482,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 266.3% during the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 27,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 20,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Unum Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Unum reported adjusted Q3 earnings of $2.20 per share, above analyst estimates of roughly $2.16–$2.18 and up from $2.09 a year earlier. Premium growth and strength at Colonial Life helped support results. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Fortitude Re closed a $3.8 billion long-term-care reinsurance agreement with Unum, a risk-management step that may help address the company’s long-term-care exposure. Fortitude Re agreement announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The headline GAAP result was a $419.7 million net loss, or $2.65 per diluted share, versus a profit a year earlier. The loss included $853 million in pretax investment losses, while elevated disability claims added pressure—factors that likely outweighed the adjusted-earnings beat for investors. Unum Q3 results

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.