United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UFCS. Jones Trading boosted their price objective on United Fire Group from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

United Fire Group Trading Up 1.9%

The stock has a market cap of $947.79 million, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.49. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.06.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $354.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.46 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

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

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 dated 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 owned 24,494 shares in the company, valued at $790,176.44. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Fire Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UFCS. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in United Fire Group in the third quarter worth approximately $184,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 142,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,324,000 after acquiring an additional 27,795 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,536 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,086,000. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new position in United Fire Group in the 3rd quarter worth $303,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.