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

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $53.29 and last traded at $52.0950, with a volume of 628030 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on UFCS shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. JonesTrading increased their price target on United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

United Fire Group Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.05.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.29. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.16% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $369.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.15 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.13%.

United Fire Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to buyback 2,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In other news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 90,034 shares in the company, valued at $4,072,237.82. This trade represents a 5.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in United Fire Group by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Company Profile

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.