United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) has received a consensus broker rating score of 2.00 (Buy) from the two brokers that cover the company, Zacks Investment Research reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. United Fire Group’s rating score has declined by 100% from three months ago as a result of various analysts’ upgrades and downgrades.
Brokerages have set a 12-month consensus price target of $54.00 for the company, according to Zacks. Zacks has also assigned United Fire Group an industry rank of 96 out of 255 based on the ratings given to related companies.
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Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. ValuEngine cut United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 12th. BidaskClub cut United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Sandler O’Neill cut United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 12th.
United Fire Group traded up $0.40, hitting $54.78, on Tuesday, according to Marketbeat. 91,800 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 91,341. United Fire Group has a 52 week low of $38.95 and a 52 week high of $58.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 44.97 and a beta of 0.49.
United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The insurance provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.17. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 3.25% and a net margin of 7.11%. The firm had revenue of $258.66 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 31st. This is an increase from United Fire Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%.
In other news, CFO Dawn M. Jaffray sold 10,386 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.30, for a total transaction of $574,345.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,155 shares in the company, valued at $893,371.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary K. Quass sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total transaction of $152,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $949,300.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 19,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 5.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 37,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,776,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Quantitative Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 19.6% in the first quarter. Quantitative Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 13,758 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,251 shares during the period. Elkfork Partners LLC acquired a new stake in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter valued at $109,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 61,274 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,793,000 after purchasing an additional 2,562 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.02% of the company’s stock.
About United Fire Group
United Fire Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance protection for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Property and Casualty Insurance, and Life Insurance. The Property and Casualty Insurance segment offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance, as well as assumed reinsurance products.
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