Truist Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Price

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $96.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Truist Financial‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.00% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Unum Group from $109.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Unum Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Atlantic Securities set a $88.00 price objective on Unum Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Unum Group from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Unum Group from $110.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.92.

Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock traded up $2.62 on Thursday, reaching $76.58. 3,874,990 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,571,347. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $69.02 and a 1-year high of $96.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.12 billion, a PE ratio of 54.31, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.25.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. Unum Group had a net margin of 5.26% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,188 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $769,003.74. This represents a 21.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Keaney sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.02, for a total value of $404,286.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,431,918.04. This represents a 10.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,488 shares of company stock valued at $988,396 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Unum Group by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,084,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $298,287,000 after acquiring an additional 292,670 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at about $84,097,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Unum Group by 14.6% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 754,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,089,000 after purchasing an additional 96,123 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,064,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 631,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,133,000 after purchasing an additional 110,342 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Unum Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Despite lowering their targets, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods kept an “outperform” rating at $97 and Truist Financial maintained a “buy” rating at $85. Both targets are above the $76.58 price cited in the coverage. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods target Truist target
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings-call recap highlighted growth opportunities alongside risks, while a sector outlook identified potential support for accident and health insurers from underwriting exposure and digitalization, counterbalanced by medical-cost inflation and pricing pressure. Earnings call highlights Sector outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Unum’s Q3 report included a $419.7 million net loss, an SEC comment-letter process and a change in reserve methodology. Levi & Korsinsky and SueWallSt separately announced investigations into potential securities claims; these are allegations and investigations, not findings of wrongdoing. Levi & Korsinsky investigation notice SueWallSt investigation notice
• Negative Sentiment: KBW cut its price target from $108 to $97, and Truist reduced its target from $96 to $85. Coverage also reported that UNM shares fell below their 200-day moving average after an analyst downgrade—a technical signal that may weigh on sentiment. Moving-average and downgrade report

About Unum Group

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.