Key Points
- Director Scott Carlton sold 9,777 United Fire Group shares at an average price of $55.52, generating $542,819.04 and reducing his direct stake by 4.65% to 200,552 shares.
- United Fire Group reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, significantly above the $0.69 consensus estimate, while revenue of $383.73 million also exceeded expectations.
- The company authorized a 2 million-share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share; analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with a $52.50 target price.
United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) Director Scott Carlton sold 9,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,134,647.04. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.
United Fire Group Price Performance
UFCS stock opened at $54.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.52. 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, Inc has a 52-week low of $29.74 and a 52-week high of $56.74. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $52.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.10.
United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.61. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 9.57%.The firm had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.76 million. Equities research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.
United Fire Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 2,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
United Fire Group Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. United Fire Group's payout ratio is 14.87%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $183,136,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 10,933.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,255,759 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $118,292,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235,314 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $24,936,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,720,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,689,000. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms recently issued reports on UFCS. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Fire Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Fire Group from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of United Fire Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.50.
View Our Latest Report on United Fire Group
About United Fire Group
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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