United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Stock: Insider George Milligan Buys 5,000 Shares

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) Director George Milligan acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $47.41 per share, with a total value of $237,050.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 95,034 shares in the company, valued at $4,505,561.94. The trade was a 5.55% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $51.51 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.12. United Fire Group, Inc has a twelve month low of $33.53 and a twelve month high of $58.19. The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $391.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.18 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 9.06%. Research analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $183,136,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the second quarter valued at about $24,936,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the second quarter valued at about $9,720,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the second quarter valued at about $9,689,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in United Fire Group in the second quarter worth about $5,935,000. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UFCS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

About United Fire Group

United Fire Group, Inc. is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Founded in 1946 as United Fire & Casualty Company, it has grown into a group of insurance companies serving customers across the United States, primarily through independent agents. The company focuses on property and casualty insurance, with products for businesses that include commercial property and liability coverage, workers’ compensation, specialty insurance and surety bonds. Its offerings are designed to address risks across a range of industries and business needs.