United Fire Group’s (UFCS) Hold (C+) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reiterated their hold (c+) rating on shares of United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on UFCS. Zacks Research raised shares of United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Jones Trading increased their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

United Fire Group stock opened at $30.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.82. United Fire Group has a 1-year low of $19.33 and a 1-year high of $32.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $776.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 0.49.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.33. United Fire Group had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The business had revenue of $314.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $337.99 million. On average, analysts expect that United Fire Group will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Fire Group news, Director John Paul E. Besong sold 2,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total value of $79,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $790,176.44. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 6.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Fire Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 10,805.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,152 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 38,793 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in United Fire Group by 1,241.8% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,428 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in United Fire Group during the 1st quarter worth $559,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in United Fire Group by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 56,919 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in United Fire Group by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,987 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,122,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.