News Summary (UNM, KBH)

The analysts at Wells Fargo Securities downgraded Unum Group UNM from “outperform” to “market perform.” Wells Fargo said, "Since initiating coverage on Unum shares on Dec. 22, 2009, [they] have appreciated 14.2% versus appreciation in the S&P 500 of 1.5%." He added, "We believe further outperformance will be more difficult to achieve in an environment of persistent unemployment and low absolute interest rates." UNM's shares are up about 0.7%. KB Home KBH reported narrower-than-expected loss for the third quarter. The company's Q3 loss came in at $0.02 per share, as compared to a loss of $0.87 per share, in the year-ago period. However, the analysts expected the company to post a loss of $0.15 per share. KBH's Q3 revenue increased 9% y/y to $501million. KBH shares gained about 2.7% following the results. According to the Commerce Department, orders for US-made durable goods reported their year's biggest fall of 1.3% in August, due to decline in the orders for transportation equipment. However, the economists were expecting a fall of 1.4% for durable-goods orders. However, new orders increased 2%, after excluding transportation. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.