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

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

United Fire Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of UFCS opened at $54.39 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $53.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.96. United Fire Group has a 12 month low of $29.74 and a 12 month high of $56.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11 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 (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.61. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 9.57%.The company had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.76 million. On average, analysts anticipate that United Fire Group will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Fire Group news, Director Scott Carlton sold 9,777 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $542,819.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 200,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,134,647.04. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in United Fire Group by 25.1% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Fire Group in the second quarter worth $229,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its stake in United Fire Group by 47.8% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 12,850 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the second quarter valued at $5,935,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Founded in 1946, the company provides property and casualty insurance products through its insurance subsidiaries, including United Fire & Casualty Company.

United Fire Group primarily serves businesses, individuals and organizations through a network of independent insurance agencies. Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, commercial auto insurance, workers’ compensation, general liability, professional liability, surety bonds and other specialty insurance products.