United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $391.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.18 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 15.19%.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of UFCS stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $56.65. 158,797 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,225. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.67. United Fire Group has a 12-month low of $30.00 and a 12-month high of $58.19.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.87%.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UFCS. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on 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 (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $52.50.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides property and casualty insurance products to businesses, individuals, and organizations, primarily through a network of independent insurance agents.

Its product portfolio includes commercial property and liability coverage, commercial automobile insurance, workers’ compensation, surety bonds, and specialty insurance products.