United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Price Target Lowered to $19.00 at Piper Sandler

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) had its price target decreased by Piper Sandler from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an underweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded United Fire Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of UFCS stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $18.93. The company had a trading volume of 205,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,655. The company has a market cap of $478.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.43 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.09. United Fire Group has a 12 month low of $18.04 and a 12 month high of $25.55.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $301.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.80 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 3.17% and a return on equity of 5.27%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($2.27) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Fire Group will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -92.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 449,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,463,584.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in United Fire Group during the second quarter valued at $4,770,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in United Fire Group during the second quarter worth about $861,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in United Fire Group by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 363,590 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,315,000 after purchasing an additional 27,213 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in United Fire Group during the second quarter worth about $536,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in United Fire Group by 45.0% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 43,008 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 13,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.