United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.20

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, September 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th.

United Fire Group has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. United Fire Group has a dividend payout ratio of 29.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect United Fire Group to earn $5.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.9%.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ UFCS opened at $54.15 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. United Fire Group has a 1 year low of $29.74 and a 1 year high of $55.82.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.76 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 9.57%. As a group, research analysts expect that United Fire Group will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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.