Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday. The firm issued a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Unum Group from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Unum Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Unum Group from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Unum Group Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of UNM stock opened at $36.65 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of 5.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.09. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $28.75 and a 12-month high of $46.64.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 10.96%. The company’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Unum Group will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 27th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 26th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.28%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 1st that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In related news, Director Gloria C. Larson bought 3,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.78 per share, with a total value of $130,080.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 119,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,767,473.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Unum Group news, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 14,972 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.02, for a total transaction of $674,039.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 63,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,851,251.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gloria C. Larson bought 3,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.78 per share, for a total transaction of $130,080.60. Following the purchase, the director now owns 119,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,767,473.88. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNM. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 4.0% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 61,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 33.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 15,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 3,799 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth $348,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Unum Group by 61.5% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 76,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 29,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors own 79.64% of the company’s stock.

About Unum Group

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Unum Group engages in the provision of financial protection benefits. Its services include disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental, vision, and other related services. It operates through the following segments: Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, Closed Block, and Corporate. The Unum US segment focuses on group disability, group life and accidental death and dismemberment products, and supplemental and voluntary lines of business.