Unum Group UNM is reinforcing its commitment to shareholder returns with a new $1 billion share repurchase authorization. Approved by the board of directors on Aug. 26, 2026, the program will begin on Sept. 1, 2026, immediately following the expiration of the company's existing repurchase program on Aug. 31, 2026. Under the new authorization, Unum can repurchase up to $1 billion of its common stock from time to time, with the timing and amount determined by management based on market conditions and other considerations.
The new authorization represents a continuation rather than a shift in Unum's capital-return strategy. The company has been actively repurchasing shares under its previous programs. In the first six months of 2026, UNM repurchased 7.9 million shares for approximately $604.5 million, including commissions and excise taxes. As of June 30, 2026, approximately $401.5 million remained under the existing $1 billion authorization.
Unum's capital position provides an important backdrop. As of June 30, 2026, the weighted-average risk-based capital ratio for its traditional U.S. insurance subsidiaries was approximately 480%, exceeding the company's long-term expectation. This gives UNM a substantial capital cushion as it continues to deploy capital toward shareholders.
The buyback should be considered within Unum's broader capital-allocation framework. UNM continues to balance share repurchases, dividends, investments in its businesses, and capital requirements associated with its insurance operations.
This new buyback program strengthens UNM's shareholder-return proposition. With the insurer having already repurchased roughly $605 million of shares in the first half of 2026, the new authorization demonstrates that repurchases are becoming an important, recurring component of Unum's capital-allocation strategy.
What About Its Peers?
First American Financial Corporation FAF follows a balanced capital-return strategy that combines a steadily growing dividend with opportunistic share repurchases. FAF generally uses a combination of regular dividend increases and selective share repurchases to distribute excess capital. FAF has increased its dividend for more than 15 consecutive years, reflecting management's commitment to returning capital through various housing market environments.
American Financial Group, Inc. AFG has one of the most shareholder-friendly capital allocation policies in the U.S. insurance sector. AFG regularly generates the capital needed to support underwriting operations. Returning excess capital to shareholders in the form of regular and special cash dividends and through opportunistic share repurchases is an important and effective component of American Financial’s capital management strategy. The combination of growing regular dividends, frequent special dividends, opportunistic buybacks and strong underwriting profitability has enabled the company to deliver substantial cash returns to investors over time.
UNM’s Price Performance
Shares of UNM have gained 32% in the past year, outperforming the industry.
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UNM’s Undervaluation
The stock is undervalued compared with its industry. Its forward price-to-book value of 1.34X is lower than the industry average of 1.69X. It carries a Value Score of B.
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Estimate Movement for UNM
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UNM’s third-quarter and fourth-quarter 2026 EPS has moved down 2.2% and 2.7%, respectively, in the past 30 days. The same for the full-year 2026 and 2027 EPS has moved down 1.2% and 1.8%, respectively, in the past 30 days.
The consensus estimates for UNM’s 2026 and 2027 EPS and revenues indicate year-over-year increases.
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UNM stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).