United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The insurance provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.03), Zacks reports. United Fire Group had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 1.50%. The firm had revenue of $301.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($2.27) EPS.

United Fire Group Stock Down 9.7 %

NASDAQ:UFCS traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.47. 104,779 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 101,120. United Fire Group has a 52 week low of $18.28 and a 52 week high of $25.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $467.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.65 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.16.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -92.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Fire Group

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