United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JonesTrading upped their price target on United Fire Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Fire Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UFCS opened at $37.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $964.40 million, a P/E ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 0.44. United Fire Group has a twelve month low of $25.01 and a twelve month high of $40.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.85 and a 200 day moving average of $34.44.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $365.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.34 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 8.52%. As a group, research analysts expect that United Fire Group will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In other United Fire Group news, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total transaction of $165,070.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 437,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,996,888.92. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total value of $163,582.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 429,113 shares in the company, valued at $16,516,559.37. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,750 shares of company stock worth $493,723. Insiders own 6.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Fire Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,511,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,945,000 after purchasing an additional 35,338 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of United Fire Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,477,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,712,000 after buying an additional 10,887 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 809,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,410,000 after buying an additional 3,289 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 615,052 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,361,000 after buying an additional 29,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 603,747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,328,000 after acquiring an additional 20,413 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

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.