United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $27.56 and traded as high as $28.12. United Fire Group shares last traded at $27.59, with a volume of 156,793 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UFCS. Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Jones Trading reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $690.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.53.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.08. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 5.13%. The firm had revenue of $308.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $336.18 million. Equities analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. United Fire Group's payout ratio is 25.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 76.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 252,449 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,437,000 after purchasing an additional 109,453 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,652,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 79.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 188,758 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,561,000 after purchasing an additional 83,654 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,061,000 after purchasing an additional 78,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in United Fire Group by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 552,194 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,710,000 after acquiring an additional 66,561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company's stock.

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.