Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) Short Interest Up 27.5% in November

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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 shares of the stock are short sold.

Unum Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE UNM traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $76.62. 507,573 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,250,305. 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 twelve month low of $42.09 and a twelve month high of $77.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.76.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 8.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unum Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 25th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unum Group news, Director Gloria C. Larson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.50, for a total transaction of $745,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 121,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,051,079.50. This trade represents a 7.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.61, for a total transaction of $363,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,840 shares in the company, valued at $2,602,342.40. The trade was a 12.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 165,709 shares of company stock worth $10,956,914 in the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Unum Group by 8.0% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 872,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,609,000 after buying an additional 64,661 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $703,000. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in Unum Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,945,000. My Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in Unum Group during the second quarter worth about $473,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Unum Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,007,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on UNM shares. UBS Group raised Unum Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Unum Group from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Unum Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Unum Group from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.73.

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.