United Fire Group, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.16 (NASDAQ:UFCS)

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 0.16 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th.

United Fire Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.2% per year over the last three years. United Fire Group has a payout ratio of 23.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect United Fire Group to earn $2.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.2%.

United Fire Group Trading Up 2.0 %

United Fire Group stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $25.98. The company had a trading volume of 169,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,877. United Fire Group has a 12 month low of $18.04 and a 12 month high of $31.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.18. The company has a market capitalization of $658.39 million, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.53.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.64. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 8.84%. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In other news, Director James Noyce purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.97 per share, with a total value of $53,940.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,712.52. This represents a 7.90 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.60, for a total value of $78,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,680.80. The trade was a 17.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UFCS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

About United Fire Group

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.