United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Upgraded by Piper Sandler to “Neutral” Rating

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $26.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $19.00.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th.

United Fire Group Trading Up 7.9 %

NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $27.43 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.24. The company has a market cap of $695.08 million, a PE ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.37. United Fire Group has a 12 month low of $18.04 and a 12 month high of $27.68.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Fire Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,293,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,794,000 after buying an additional 27,376 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 821,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,195,000 after acquiring an additional 17,415 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in United Fire Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 502,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,925 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in United Fire Group by 11.0% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 485,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,164,000 after purchasing an additional 48,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 42.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 315,779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,609,000 after purchasing an additional 93,836 shares during the period. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.