Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,460,000 shares, a growth of 27.5% from the October 31st total of 1,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Unum Group in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Unum Group from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Unum Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unum Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Insider Activity

In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $104,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This trade represents a 15.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 67,795 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,065,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,601,422.64. This represents a 5.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 165,709 shares of company stock valued at $10,956,914. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 361.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Unum Group during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Unum Group during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Unum Group Stock Performance

UNM traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $76.35. 1,039,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,252,712. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $42.09 and a 1-year high of $77.63.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. Unum Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Unum Group will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

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.