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

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $40.79 and last traded at $40.6450, with a volume of 28943 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. JonesTrading boosted their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.50.

United Fire Group Trading Up 2.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.00 and its 200-day moving average is $35.86.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.60. United Fire Group had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $365.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.34 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This is a boost from United Fire Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.86%.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In other United Fire Group news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total transaction of $163,582.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 429,113 shares in the company, valued at $16,516,559.37. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total transaction of $165,070.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 437,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,996,888.92. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,750 shares of company stock worth $493,723. Company insiders own 6.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $371,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 15,983 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $228,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management raised its position in shares of United Fire Group by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 87,973 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 23,273 shares during the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Fire Group Company Profile

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.