United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's Why

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UFCS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded United Fire Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th.

United Fire Group Trading Up 7.9 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.24. The company has a market cap of $695.08 million, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.37.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $322.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. Equities analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,293,367 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,794,000 after buying an additional 27,376 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 821,566 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,195,000 after purchasing an additional 17,415 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 502,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 11.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 315,779 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,609,000 after purchasing an additional 93,836 shares during the period. 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.