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

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 15th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given 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 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 payout ratio of 29.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Stock Up 1.0 %

UFCS stock opened at $30.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $768.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 0.37. United Fire Group has a twelve month low of $18.04 and a twelve month high of $31.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.52.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 6.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Research analysts expect that United Fire Group will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler upgraded United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th.

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.