United Fire Group, Inc (UFCS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 on September 18th

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, September 18th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th.

United Fire Group has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. United Fire Group has a dividend payout ratio of 29.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect United Fire Group to earn $5.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.9%.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $54.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. United Fire Group has a fifty-two week low of $29.74 and a fifty-two week high of $55.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.53.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.76 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 15.19%. Equities research analysts predict that United Fire Group will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Fire Group news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 90,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,072,237.82. The trade was a 5.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the second quarter worth $183,136,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in United Fire Group by 10,933.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,255,759 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $118,292,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235,314 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in United Fire Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,511,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,945,000 after purchasing an additional 35,338 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,489,968 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,219,000 after purchasing an additional 12,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 809,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,410,000 after purchasing an additional 3,289 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Fire Group Company Profile

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that specializes in property and casualty coverage for commercial and personal lines. The company underwrites business through three primary segments: commercial, personal and specialty insurance. Within the commercial segment, United Fire Group offers tailored policies for small- and medium-sized enterprises, including general liability, commercial property and workers’ compensation. Its personal lines cover homeowners, auto, farm and umbrella policies.

United Fire Group distributes its products primarily through a national network of independent insurance agents and brokers.