United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.64 EPS

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.64, Zacks reports. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 4.15%.

United Fire Group Stock Up 2.2 %

UFCS stock opened at $25.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $649.21 million, a PE ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.53 and a 200-day moving average of $23.91. United Fire Group has a 12-month low of $18.04 and a 12-month high of $31.70.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on UFCS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler upgraded United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.60, for a total transaction of $78,854.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,523 shares in the company, valued at $370,680.80. The trade was a 17.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Fire Group Company Profile

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.