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

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $37.48 and last traded at $37.2050, with a volume of 38167 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UFCS. Jones Trading increased their target price on United Fire Group from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Fire Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

United Fire Group Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $947.79 million, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.06.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.81. United Fire Group had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The firm had revenue of $354.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.46 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Insider Activity at United Fire Group

In related news, Director John Paul E. Besong sold 2,450 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total transaction of $79,037.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,494 shares in the company, valued at $790,176.44. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UFCS. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of United Fire Group by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in United Fire Group by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in United Fire Group by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 131.3% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Company Profile

United Fire Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products.