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

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, August 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of 0.16 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th.

United Fire Group has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 17.5% per year over the last three years. United Fire Group has a dividend payout ratio of 39.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect United Fire Group to earn $1.50 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 42.7%.

United Fire Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of United Fire Group stock traded up $0.36 on Monday, reaching $19.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 104,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,600. The company has a market capitalization of $505.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.97 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $20.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.95. United Fire Group has a 52 week low of $18.04 and a 52 week high of $25.55.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.80 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 3.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($2.27) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that United Fire Group will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the director now owns 449,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,463,584.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders bought 2,500 shares of company stock valued at $50,310 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on UFCS. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on United Fire Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

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.