United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $391.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $384.18 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 15.19%.

United Fire Group Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:UFCS traded down $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 158,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,225. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. United Fire Group has a fifty-two week low of $30.00 and a fifty-two week high of $58.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.55.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is presently 14.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Fire Group news, Director Scott Carlton sold 9,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $542,819.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 200,552 shares in the company, valued at $11,134,647.04. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised United Fire Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides property and casualty insurance products to businesses, individuals, and organizations, primarily through a network of independent insurance agents.

Its product portfolio includes commercial property and liability coverage, commercial automobile insurance, workers’ compensation, surety bonds, and specialty insurance products.