United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.61 EPS

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.61, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $383.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.76 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 15.39%.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UFCS opened at $53.66 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.01. United Fire Group has a 1-year low of $26.23 and a 1-year high of $54.93.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.13%.

United Fire Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 2,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UFCS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on United Fire Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research cut United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, JonesTrading raised their price target on United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.23 per share, with a total value of $203,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 90,034 shares in the company, valued at $4,072,237.82. This represents a 5.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,477,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,712,000 after purchasing an additional 10,887 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in United Fire Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,476,203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,906,000 after buying an additional 36,952 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 809,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,289 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 615,052 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,361,000 after acquiring an additional 29,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 419,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,751,000 after acquiring an additional 72,169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

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.