Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Unum Group updated its FY 2024 guidance to 8.426-8.809 EPS.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE UNM opened at $62.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.37. Unum Group has a 52-week low of $41.75 and a 52-week high of $64.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.96%.

Unum Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UNM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group raised Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Unum Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Unum Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.64.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at $58,601,422.64. 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,507,464.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.