United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Issues Earnings Results

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.81, Zacks reports. United Fire Group had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 11.84%.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UFCS traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.90. The stock had a trading volume of 150,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 122,998. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.19. The company has a market capitalization of $787.70 million, a P/E ratio of 8.80 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. United Fire Group has a fifty-two week low of $19.34 and a fifty-two week high of $32.58.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is presently 18.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Paul E. Besong sold 2,450 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total transaction of $79,037.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,176.44. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UFCS. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 117,441 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 10,346 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 138,540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,081,000 after purchasing an additional 7,234 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 21,999 shares during the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jones Trading lifted their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

United Fire Group Company Profile

United Fire Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products.