Why Unum (UNM) Outpaced the Stock Market Today
The most recent trading session ended with Unum (UNM) standing at $45.29, reflecting a +0.24% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.04%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.14%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.03%.
Shares of the insurance company have appreciated by 6.66% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Finance sector's gain of 8.22% and outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 5.28%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Unum in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Unum is projected to report earnings of $1.87 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 30.77%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $3.13 billion, indicating a 4.38% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $7.73 per share and a revenue of $12.4 billion, indicating changes of +24.48% and +3.27%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Unum. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.04% increase. Unum is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Unum's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 5.84. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 12.22 of its industry.
Investors should also note that UNM has a PEG ratio of 0.84 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Insurance - Accident and Health industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.42.
The Insurance - Accident and Health industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 215, putting it in the bottom 15% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Unum Group (UNM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
