United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Separately, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st.

United Fire Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of UFCS stock opened at $21.49 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $543.70 million, a P/E ratio of -31.14 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.98. United Fire Group has a 12-month low of $18.41 and a 12-month high of $25.55.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $296.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $282.30 million. United Fire Group had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 1.50%. On average, research analysts predict that United Fire Group will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.06, for a total value of $52,650.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 449,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,463,584.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in United Fire Group in the first quarter valued at $202,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,986 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 1,071 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the first quarter valued at about $251,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the first quarter valued at about $265,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new position in United Fire Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

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.