Not a day passes that I don’t scour the market for opportunities; I look for stocks that have safe and generous yields, usually averaging 4.5%, notes John Dobosz, editor of Forbes Dividend Investor.
Interest rates have fallen and that inflicted pain on the financial sector, which thrives on higher long-term rates and struggles when the long end of the yield curve sags.
Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Unum Group (UNM) is a provider of group and individual income protection insurance products in the United States and the United Kingdom.
It is the largest domestic disability insurer in the U.S., with the majority of premiums generated from employer plans. The company also offers long-term care insurance, life insurance, and employer- and employee-paid group benefits.
Its subsidiaries include Unum US, Unum UK, Unum Poland, and Colonial Life. Annual revenue for the past twelve months was $11.9 billion, up 0.22% year-over-year in the most recent quarter.
Revenue this year is expected to inch higher by 0.60% to $12 billion, while earnings are forecast to fall 4.6% to $5.19 per share, giving the stock a forward price-earnings multiple of 3.4, versus a five-year average of 7.8. The stock trades at substantial discounts to every metric I evaluate when assessing value.
Unum’s quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share over the past 10 years has grown at an 11.8% compound annual rate, and gives the stock a yield of 6.3%. The next ex-dividend date and quarterly earnings report and are not until late October.
