George Milligan Purchases 4,500 Shares of United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Stock

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) Director George Milligan bought 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 90,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,072,237.82. The trade was a 5.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

UFCS opened at $47.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.97. 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 12-month low of $25.79 and a 12-month high of $49.94.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $369.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.16 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 9.16%. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.13%.

United Fire Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on United Fire Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JonesTrading lifted their price objective on United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in United Fire Group by 168.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 43,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after buying an additional 27,526 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in United Fire Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 70,452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after buying an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in United Fire Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,489,968 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,219,000 after buying an additional 12,329 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Fire Group in the 1st quarter valued at $237,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in United Fire Group by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 21,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Company Profile

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.