United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $56.74 and last traded at $54.8850, with a volume of 3939 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.50.

United Fire Group Stock Up 0.6%

The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.76 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 9.57%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is 14.87%.

United Fire Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Fire Group

In other news, Director Scott Carlton sold 9,777 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $542,819.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 200,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,134,647.04. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 6.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in United Fire Group during the second quarter worth about $2,301,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,679,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Fire Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,511,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,945,000 after purchasing an additional 35,338 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 111.0% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 57,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,095,000 after purchasing an additional 30,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,677,000. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

About United Fire Group

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.