United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Jones Trading

Jones Trading upgraded shares of United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on UFCS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

United Fire Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $28.59 on Wednesday. United Fire Group has a 52 week low of $18.04 and a 52 week high of $31.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.61. The company has a market cap of $725.64 million, a PE ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.53.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.64. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 8.84%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Fire Group will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is 26.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total transaction of $70,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 441,863 shares in the company, valued at $12,517,978.79. This represents a 0.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James Noyce purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.97 per share, with a total value of $53,940.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 27,316 shares in the company, valued at $736,712.52. This trade represents a 7.90 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,664 shares of company stock worth $217,954. Corporate insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UFCS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,936 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 66,148 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 37,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 44,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products.