United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $32.22 and last traded at $31.78, with a volume of 5355 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UFCS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Jones Trading increased their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $806.76 million, a PE ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.46.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $314.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $337.99 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 11.84%. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Fire Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UFCS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in United Fire Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 220,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 4,124 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 85,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 15,016 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

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.