United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $26.14 and last traded at $26.14, with a volume of 12696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.42.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is presently 32.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on UFCS shares. Piper Sandler upgraded United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th.

United Fire Group Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.30. The stock has a market cap of $696.09 million, a P/E ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.37.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.60. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 4.15%. The firm had revenue of $322.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Fire Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 576.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 4,611 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,864 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098 shares in the last quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the 1st quarter worth $202,000. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Fire Group Company Profile

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.