United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCSFree Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JonesTrading boosted their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

View Our Latest Research Report on UFCS

United Fire Group Stock Up 3.9%

UFCS opened at $51.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.15. United Fire Group has a 52 week low of $25.79 and a 52 week high of $54.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCSGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.29. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 9.16%.The firm had revenue of $369.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.15 million. Analysts forecast that United Fire Group will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to buyback 2,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director George D. Milligan purchased 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 90,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,072,237.82. This trade represents a 5.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Fire Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UFCS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in United Fire Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,511,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,945,000 after acquiring an additional 35,338 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in United Fire Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,489,968 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,219,000 after purchasing an additional 12,329 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 809,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in United Fire Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 615,052 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,361,000 after purchasing an additional 29,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in United Fire Group by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 419,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,751,000 after purchasing an additional 72,169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

About United Fire Group

(Get Free Report)

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that specializes in property and casualty coverage for commercial and personal lines. The company underwrites business through three primary segments: commercial, personal and specialty insurance. Within the commercial segment, United Fire Group offers tailored policies for small- and medium-sized enterprises, including general liability, commercial property and workers’ compensation. Its personal lines cover homeowners, auto, farm and umbrella policies.

United Fire Group distributes its products primarily through a national network of independent insurance agents and brokers.

Further Reading

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