United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Hits New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $26.14 and last traded at $26.14, with a volume of 12696 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.42.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UFCS has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler raised shares of United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $696.09 million, a P/E ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.30.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $322.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.80 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 4.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 576.4% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 4,611 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 82.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,864 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the first quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the second quarter worth about $201,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About United Fire Group

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.