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

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

Unum Group Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM traded up $2.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.48. The company had a trading volume of 606,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,365. Unum Group has a one year low of $41.75 and a one year high of $64.89. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.37.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,065,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.11, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,464.31. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents 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 owned by company insiders.

Unum Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNM shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial raised 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Unum Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.64.

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.