United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $25.64 and last traded at $25.64, with a volume of 37216 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UFCS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on United Fire Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $644.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.17.

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

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is 32.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UFCS. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 437,584 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,404,000 after acquiring an additional 45,405 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,770,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,986 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in United Fire Group in the third quarter valued at about $761,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in United Fire Group during the first quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.