Insider Selling: United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Director Sells 2,450 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director John Paul Besong of United Fire Group sold 2,450 shares at an average price of $32.26, totaling $79,037, and decreased his ownership by 9.09%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 18.23%.
• United Fire Group reported earnings of $0.90 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.33, despite revenues of $314.80 million falling short of the consensus estimate of $337.99 million.

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

United Fire Group stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $31.07. 112,370 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 121,907. United Fire Group, Inc has a 12 month low of $19.19 and a 12 month high of $32.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.65 and a 200 day moving average of $28.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $791.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.56.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $314.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $337.99 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 11.84%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share 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 payout ratio is currently 18.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in United Fire Group by 8.0% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 72,890 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 5,382 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 12.3% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 17,777 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 301.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,263 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its position in United Fire Group by 148.5% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 77,217 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,216,000 after acquiring an additional 46,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 57,836 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 4,064 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UFCS shares. Jones Trading increased their price objective on United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Fire Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.50.

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.