What is DOWLING & PARTN’s Forecast for UFCS FY2026 Earnings?

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) – Equities researchers at DOWLING & PARTN issued their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of United Fire Group in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 20th. DOWLING & PARTN analyst J. Collins expects that the insurance provider will post earnings of $4.50 per share for the year. The consensus estimate for United Fire Group’s current full-year earnings is $4.88 per share. DOWLING & PARTN also issued estimates for United Fire Group’s FY2027 earnings at $4.85 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on UFCS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. JonesTrading lifted their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS opened at $45.04 on Thursday. United Fire Group has a 52 week low of $25.79 and a 52 week high of $49.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.38. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $369.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.16 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 9.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 17.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 129.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Fire Group

In related news, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total transaction of $165,070.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 437,613 shares in the company, valued at $16,996,888.92. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total transaction of $163,582.50. Following the sale, the director owned 429,113 shares in the company, valued at $16,516,559.37. This represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,750 shares of company stock valued at $493,723. Corporate insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to buyback 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.13%.

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.