United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Sets New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• 52‑week high: UFCS hit a new 52‑week high of $40.79 (last $40.645) as trading picked up, with analysts holding a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target of about $40.50 (Piper Sandler's target raised to $41).
• Earnings beat: United Fire Group reported quarterly EPS of $1.50 vs. $0.90 expected and revenue of $365.8M vs. $332.3M, with a market cap of $1.03B, P/E of 9.0 and a 13.8% ROE.
• Dividend raised and insider activity: The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.20 ($0.80 annualized, ~2.0% yield), while insiders sold ~12,750 shares in the past 90 days even as institutional ownership rose to 62.7%.

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.79 and last traded at $40.6450, with a volume of 28943 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UFCS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on United Fire Group from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research lowered United Fire Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, JonesTrading boosted their price objective on United Fire Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.50.

United Fire Group Trading Up 2.6%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.60. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 8.52%.The business had revenue of $365.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.34 million. On average, research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from United Fire Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. United Fire Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Fire Group

In other news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total value of $163,582.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 429,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,516,559.37. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total value of $165,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 437,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,996,888.92. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,750 shares of company stock worth $493,723. Corporate insiders own 6.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UFCS. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,940,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 108.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 347,008 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,959,000 after buying an additional 180,836 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 236.4% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 235,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,576,000 after buying an additional 165,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 59.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 301,076 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,641,000 after buying an additional 112,318 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 211,339 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,429,000 after buying an additional 93,525 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company's stock.

About United Fire Group

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.

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