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Unum (UNM) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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Unum (UNM - Free Report) closed at $41.14 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.61% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 2.28%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 2.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 5.02%.

Heading into today, shares of the insurance company had gained 0.99% over the past month, outpacing the Finance sector's loss of 1.02% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.61% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Unum as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 31, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Unum to post earnings of $1.47 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 65.17%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3 billion, up 0.39% from the prior-year quarter.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Unum. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Unum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Unum has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.51 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.93.

Investors should also note that UNM has a PEG ratio of 0.53 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. UNM's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.59 as of yesterday's close.

The Insurance - Accident and Health industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 54, putting it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow UNM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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