Unum Group $UNM stock confirmed a break below the 50 day moving average on December 9, 2022, as it continues trading within a downtrend channel. A confirmed MACD sell signal triggered on December 9, 2022. The stock did an uptrend channel break back on November 11, 2022, with a predicted sell-off marked in the red shaded square on the chart below.
Life insurance companies are feeling the revenue squeeze from the 40% increase in deaths and disabilities from people between the ages of 18 to 49.
Policy sales have changed substantially, payouts have soared to levels not seen in over a century.
Fitch Affirms Lincoln National Outlook Negative
On December 9, 2022, Fitch released a review of Lincoln National Corp. Prior to the pandemic, Lincoln National’s operating performance consistently outperformed rating expectations, thanks in large part to a stable in-force mortality experience and increasing asset-based fee income. The pandemic, which resulted in higher mortality and morbidity in the previous year, had a negative impact on performance according to Fitch. In the third quarter, the company’s 2022 annual assumption review resulted in a significant GAAP unlocking charge of more than $2 billion, primarily due to revised lapse assumptions on a sizable portion of its guaranteed universal life insurance.
Are investors betting that Unum Group will follow the path of Lincoln National?
Unum Group announces $200M share repurchase authorization
The board of directors of Unum Group approved a share repurchase program on December 1, 2022, allowing the company to periodically buy back up to $200 million of its common stock from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023. This program is the successor to the current share repurchase program of the company, which runs through December 31, 2022.
