How to buy Unum Group shares

Unum Group (UNM) is a leading insurance-life business with stocks listed in the US. It opened the day at US$30.48 after a previous close of US$30.32. During the day the price has varied from a low of USD30.26 to a high of USD30.59. The latest price was USD30.43 (25 minute delay). Unum Group is listed on the NYSE. All prices are listed in US Dollars.

How to buy shares in Unum Group

1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Unum Group. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: UNM. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Unum Group reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$31.43, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Unum Group, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Unum Group. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

Unum Group share price

Use our graph to track the performance of UNM stocks over time.

Unum Group shares at a glance

• Live prices
• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-06-11.

Open	US$30.48
High	US$30.59
Low	US$30.26
Close	US$30.43
Previous close	US$30.32
Change	US$0.11
Change %	0.3628%
Volume	1,983,844

Information last updated 2021-06-10.

52-week range	US$14.3964 - US$31.98
50-day moving average	US$29.9791
200-day moving average	US$26.5416
Target price	US$29.9
PE ratio	8.0462
Dividend yield	US$1.14 (3.57%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	US$3.849

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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy Unum Group stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of Unum Group by TradingView

Unum Group price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the last close of $30.43

1 week (2021-06-02)	-3.58%
1 month (2021-05-12)	4.86%
3 months (2021-03-12)	4.79%
6 months (2020-12-11)	30.77%

1 year (2020-06-12)	78.16%
2 years (2019-06-12)	-7.59%
3 years (2018-06-12)	-22.23%
5 years (2016-06-10)	-12.41%

Is Unum Group under- or over-valued?

Valuing Unum Group stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Unum Group's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Unum Group's P/E ratio

Unum Group's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 8x. In other words, Unum Group shares trade at around 8x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

Unum Group's PEG ratio

Unum Group's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.5. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Unum Group's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Unum Group's EBITDA

Unum Group's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$1.3 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a Unum Group's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Unum Group financials

Revenue TTM	US$13.4 billion
Operating margin TTM	8.59%
Gross profit TTM	US$3.1 billion
Return on assets TTM	1.07%
Return on equity TTM	7.71%
Profit margin	5.87%
Book value	51.766
Market capitalisation	US$6.3 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Unum Group shares

There are currently 3.7 million Unum Group shares held short by investors – that's known as Unum Group's "short interest". This figure is 2.5% down from 3.8 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Unum Group shares can be evaluated.

Unum Group's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

Unum Group's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Unum Group shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Unum Group shares traded daily (recently around 1.8 million). Unum Group's SIR currently stands at 2.01. In other words for every 100,000 Unum Group shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2010 shares are currently held short.

However Unum Group's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Unum Group shares, or, against the total number of tradable Unum Group shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Unum Group's short interest could be expressed as 0.02% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Unum Group shares in existence, roughly 20 shares are currently held short) or 0.0207% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Unum Group shares, roughly 21 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Unum Group.

Find out more about how you can short Unum Group stock.

Unum Group's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Unum Group.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Unum Group's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 30.31

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Unum Group's overall score of 30.31 (as at 12/31/2018) is nothing to write home about – landing it in it in the 42nd percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Unum Group is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

Unum Group's environmental score

Environmental score: 5.85/100

Unum Group's environmental score of 5.85 puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Unum Group is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Unum Group's social score

Social score: 13.83/100

Unum Group's social score of 13.83 puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Unum Group is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Unum Group's governance score

Governance score: 17.63/100

Unum Group's governance score puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Unum Group is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Unum Group's controversy score

Controversy score: 1/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Unum Group scored a 1 out of 5 for controversy – the highest score possible, reflecting that Unum Group has managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

Unum Group was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	30.31
Total ESG percentile	41.66
Environmental score	5.85
Environmental score percentile	6
Social score	13.83
Social score percentile	6
Governance score	17.63
Governance score percentile	6
Level of controversy	1

Unum Group share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 24.62% of net profits

Recently Unum Group has paid out, on average, around 24.62% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 3.87% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Unum Group shareholders could enjoy a 3.87% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Unum Group's case, that would currently equate to about $1.14 per share.

While Unum Group's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that Unum Group is investing more in its future growth.

Unum Group's most recent dividend payout was on 20 May 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 28 April 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have Unum Group's shares ever split?

Unum Group's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 2 June 1997. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Unum Group shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Unum Group shares which in turn could have impacted Unum Group's share price.

Unum Group share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Unum Group's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$14.3964 up to US$31.98. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Unum Group's is 1.731. This would suggest that Unum Group's shares are more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

Unum Group overview

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Poland. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segments. 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. It also provides group pension, individual life and corporate-owned life insurance, reinsurance pools and management operations, and other products. The company sells its products primarily to employers for the benefit of employees. Unum Group sells its products through field sales personnel, independent brokers, and consultants, as well as independent contractor agency sales force. The company was founded in 1848 and is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Unum Group is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.681% of Unum Group shares are held by insiders and 86.534% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for Unum Group?

  Unum Group's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Unum Group based?

  Unum Group's address is: 1 Fountain Square, Chattanooga, TN, United States, 37402

• What is Unum Group's ISIN number?

  Unum Group's international securities identification number is: US91529Y1064

• What is Unum Group's CUSIP number?

  Unum Group's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 743889206