United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jones Trading lifted their target price on United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Fire Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.50.

United Fire Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $30.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $787.70 million, a P/E ratio of 8.80 and a beta of 0.49. United Fire Group has a 12 month low of $19.34 and a 12 month high of $32.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.90 and its 200 day moving average is $29.22.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $328.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $354.46 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 6.94%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Fire Group will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Fire Group news, Director John Paul E. Besong sold 2,450 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total transaction of $79,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $790,176.44. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in United Fire Group by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in United Fire Group by 270.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in United Fire Group by 812.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in United Fire Group by 3,351.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in United Fire Group by 301.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 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.