Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Stock Price

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $79.00 to $81.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

UNM has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Unum Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays set a $96.00 target price on Unum Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Unum Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. UBS Group set a $87.00 target price on Unum Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Unum Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.29.

Unum Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UNM opened at $78.23 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.90 and its 200 day moving average is $77.15. Unum Group has a fifty-two week low of $60.39 and a fifty-two week high of $84.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.16). Unum Group had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Unum Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.500-8.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unum Group will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Unum Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. Unum Group’s payout ratio is 22.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unum Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the second quarter valued at $1,113,353,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 155.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,278,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,604,000 after buying an additional 1,387,139 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter valued at $93,287,000. Teewinot Capital Advisers L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the first quarter valued at $58,881,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Unum Group by 228.6% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,205,000 after buying an additional 719,152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

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.