Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,190,000 shares, a drop of 24.6% from the September 15th total of 4,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,464.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $3,727,369.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total value of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Beacon Financial Group bought a new stake in Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth about $277,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Unum Group by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,017,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,225,000 after acquiring an additional 291,757 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Unum Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Unum Group by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Unum Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,590,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $931,109,000 after purchasing an additional 300,840 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on UNM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.64.

Unum Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE UNM traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.37. 374,329 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,237,197. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $41.75 and a 12 month high of $63.88. The company has a market capitalization of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.57.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.14. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 24.71%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.