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 Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $32.71 and traded as high as $36.09. United Fire Group shares last traded at $35.94, with a volume of 141,684 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UFCS. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on United Fire Group from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research cut United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jones Trading lifted their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

United Fire Group Trading Up 0.9%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.71. The company has a market capitalization of $916.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (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 net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 13.64%. Research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.09%.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Fire Group by 812.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 3,351.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 301.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in United Fire Group by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.