United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $56.98 and last traded at $56.0730, with a volume of 5,805 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $56.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.50.

United Fire Group Trading Up 0.3%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $54.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.61. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $383.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.76 million. Analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Fire Group news, Director Scott Carlton sold 9,777 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $542,819.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 200,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,134,647.04. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in United Fire Group by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Company Profile

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides property and casualty insurance products to businesses and individuals, primarily through a network of independent insurance agents.

United Fire Group offers commercial insurance covering areas such as commercial property, general liability, commercial automobile, workers’ compensation and surety bonds. Its personal insurance products include automobile and homeowners coverage.