Unum Group FY2024 EPS Estimate Boosted by Zacks Research

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2024 earnings estimates for Unum Group in a report released on Tuesday, November 12th. Zacks Research analyst D. Chatterjee now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $8.49 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $8.46. The consensus estimate for Unum Group's current full-year earnings is $8.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Unum Group's Q4 2024 earnings at $2.08 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.15 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.19 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.27 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $9.24 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.35 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.49 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.72 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.08 EPS.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.03. The firm 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 15.21% and a net margin of 13.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on UNM. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Unum Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Unum Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:UNM traded up $1.31 on Thursday, hitting $72.33. 684,416 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,246,107. The company has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.62. Unum Group has a 52 week low of $41.86 and a 52 week high of $72.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 25th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 25th. Unum Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Unum Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $227,565.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at $3,554,355.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,250 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $227,565.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,554,355.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $104,340.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $581,591.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,380,074 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Unum Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 116.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,606 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,857,000 after buying an additional 18,604 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Unum Group by 105.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 377,627 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,263,000 after buying an additional 194,125 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Unum Group by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Unum Group by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 177,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,530,000 after purchasing an additional 13,171 shares during the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.