United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $30.91 and traded as high as $37.30. United Fire Group shares last traded at $36.91, with a volume of 119,035 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on UFCS. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Jones Trading increased their target price on United Fire Group from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

United Fire Group Stock Up 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.01. The stock has a market cap of $952.29 million, a P/E ratio of 8.80 and a beta of 0.47.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $354.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.46 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 8.22%. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.09%.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In other news, Director John Paul E. Besong sold 2,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total transaction of $79,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,176.44. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in United Fire Group by 859.3% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 8,797 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 7,880 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in United Fire Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,399,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,230,000 after buying an additional 49,290 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 1st quarter worth about $783,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $371,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 252,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,437,000 after acquiring an additional 109,453 shares during the period. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.