UNM Should I Buy

Wolfe Research analyst Tracy Benguigui lowered the firm's price target on Unum Group to $100 from $102 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm says Unum's new $3.8B LTC reserve cession to Fortitude Re proves its LTC block is transactable, confirming its thesis that the last deal was a clearing event. Unum shares are underperforming today as the market may be considering less future LTC reserve deal catalysts given notable progress to date, Wolfe notes. While there are ILTC reserve deal precedents, the firm has not seen one on the GLTC side probably given the less risky nature making it a lower priority. The market may be missing another catalyst, Wolfe argues, as post deal, this primes Unum to be a better takeout candidate.