United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.81 EPS

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.81, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $328.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.46 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 6.94%.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS stock opened at $32.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $828.49 million, a P/E ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 0.49. United Fire Group has a one year low of $19.34 and a one year high of $32.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.90 and a 200-day moving average of $29.22.

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 paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Fire Group news, Director John Paul E. Besong sold 2,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total value of $79,037.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $790,176.44. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UFCS. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Fire Group by 812.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 301.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 17.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in United Fire Group by 5.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UFCS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jones Trading raised their target price on United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.