United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Earns "Buy" Rating from Jones Trading

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by Jones Trading in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $32.00 price target on the insurance provider's stock. Jones Trading's target price indicates a potential upside of 14.61% from the company's current price.

UFCS has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

United Fire Group Trading Down 0.0%

United Fire Group stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $27.92. The stock had a trading volume of 104,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,355. United Fire Group has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $31.70. The company has a market capitalization of $710.59 million, a PE ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's fifty day moving average is $27.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.22.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $308.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $336.18 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 8.84%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Fire Group will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other United Fire Group news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total transaction of $70,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 441,863 shares in the company, valued at $12,517,978.79. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James Noyce bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.97 per share, with a total value of $53,940.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,712.52. This trade represents a 7.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 6.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in United Fire Group by 147.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,380 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 26,469 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in United Fire Group by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,623 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,085,000 after purchasing an additional 21,352 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in United Fire Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 37,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,061,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $231,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by 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.

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