United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on UFCS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two research 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, United Fire Group has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.50.

United Fire Group Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ UFCS opened at $54.39 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.96. United Fire Group has a twelve month low of $29.74 and a twelve month high of $56.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.52.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.76 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 9.57%. Research analysts forecast that United Fire Group will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. 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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $542,819.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 200,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,134,647.04. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $183,136,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the second quarter valued at $24,936,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,720,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter worth $9,689,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 236.4% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 235,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,576,000 after purchasing an additional 165,789 shares during the period. 62.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Fire Group Company Profile

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Founded in 1946, the company provides property and casualty insurance products through its insurance subsidiaries, including United Fire & Casualty Company.

United Fire Group primarily serves businesses, individuals and organizations through a network of independent insurance agencies. Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, commercial auto insurance, workers’ compensation, general liability, professional liability, surety bonds and other specialty insurance products.