United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $32.71 and traded as high as $36.09. United Fire Group shares last traded at $35.94, with a volume of 141,684 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UFCS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Jones Trading boosted their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research downgraded United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

United Fire Group Trading Up 0.9%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $916.83 million, a P/E ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 0.45.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $354.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.46 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 8.22%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is 15.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Fire Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in United Fire Group by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 117,441 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,459,000 after buying an additional 10,346 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 138,540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,081,000 after acquiring an additional 7,234 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,848,000 after buying an additional 21,999 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.