United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Initiates Share Buyback Plan

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $48.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 90,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,833. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.87. United Fire Group has a 52-week low of $25.79 and a 52-week high of $49.94.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.29. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 9.16%.The firm had revenue of $369.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.16 million. On average, equities analysts expect that United Fire Group will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total transaction of $163,582.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 429,113 shares in the company, valued at $16,516,559.37. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total value of $165,070.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 437,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,996,888.92. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,750 shares of company stock valued at $493,723. 6.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.