Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Board Authorizes Share Buyback Plan

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 18th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNM. StockNews.com raised Unum Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $76.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.17.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE UNM opened at $74.75 on Friday. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $79.43. The company has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.89, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. Equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.92, for a total transaction of $769,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 54,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,217,292.84. The trade was a 15.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Unum Group Company Profile

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.