United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $39.25 and last traded at $38.72, with a volume of 265058 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.13.

United Fire Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting United Fire Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — United Fire reported adjusted operating EPS of $1.50 (GAAP diluted EPS $1.45), topping consensus by roughly $0.60 and delivering revenue of $365.8M versus ~$332M expected; management called the quarter a record profit, supporting the rally. United Fire Group, Inc. reports fourth quarter and full year 2025 results
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike — The board approved a 25% increase to the quarterly dividend (to $0.20/share), raising the cash return to shareholders and signaling confidence in cash flow and capital adequacy. This tends to support the stock on income-focused demand. United Fire Group Hikes Dividend After Strong 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Underwriting targets — Management said it’s targeting a sub-5% catastrophe loss ratio for 2026 and emphasized sustained profitable growth, which, if achieved, should materially improve combined ratios and underwriting income. United Fire Group signals sustained profitable growth with 25% dividend increase and targets sub-5% catastrophe loss ratio in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials posted — Full call transcripts and slide deck are available (useful for analysts and investors to parse reserves, reinsurance costs and investment income details). These publications help clarify the drivers behind the beat but don’t themselves move fundamentals. United Fire UFCS Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term technical/ dividend timing — The stock will trade ex-dividend on Feb. 24; the upcoming payout can produce short-term downward pressure around the ex-date and some investors may rotate after the one-time dividend boost. United Fire Group Signals Profitable Turn in Earnings Call

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UFCS. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on United Fire Group from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Jones Trading boosted their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $987.75 million, a P/E ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.28.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $365.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.34 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 8.52%. On average, equities analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from United Fire Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is currently 15.09%.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UFCS. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,940,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 108.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 347,008 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,959,000 after purchasing an additional 180,836 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in United Fire Group by 236.4% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 235,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,576,000 after purchasing an additional 165,789 shares in the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Fire Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,154,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in United Fire Group by 59.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 301,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,641,000 after buying an additional 112,318 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.