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

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 15th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.16 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th.

United Fire Group has decreased its dividend by an average of 17.5% per year over the last three years. United Fire Group has a dividend payout ratio of 29.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect United Fire Group to earn $2.20 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 29.1%.

United Fire Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of UFCS stock traded up $0.34 on Wednesday, reaching $30.36. 10,303 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 109,331. United Fire Group has a 52 week low of $18.04 and a 52 week high of $31.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $769.32 million, a PE ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.52.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $322.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Fire Group will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UFCS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th.

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.