United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $26.14 and last traded at $26.14, with a volume of 12696 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on UFCS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler upgraded United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.24. The firm has a market cap of $677.85 million, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.37.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.60. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 4.15%. The company had revenue of $322.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UFCS. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in United Fire Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 44,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in United Fire Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 193,283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in United Fire Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,986 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 10.5% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,108 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 6.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $722,000 after buying an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.