United Fire Group Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS)

Sector: Financial Services Industry: Insurance - Property & Casualty CIK: 0000101199
Market Cap 1.00 Bn
P/B 1.33
P/E -79.22
P/S 1.00
ROIC (Qtr) 12.02
Div Yield % 2.02
Rev 1y % (Qtr) 9.62
Total Debt (Qtr) 146.13 Mn
Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.16
Add ratio to table...

About

United Fire Group Inc., or UFCS, is a property and casualty insurance company operating in the United States. With licenses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, UFCS is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol UFCS. The company's main business activities revolve around writing property and casualty insurance through a network of independent agencies. UFCS offers a range of insurance products, including commercial lines property and casualty insurance, surety bonds, and specialty and surplus lines coverage. The company's...

Read more

Investment thesis

Bull case

  • Strong operating cash flow of 336.78M provides robust 2.30x coverage of total debt 146.13M, indicating excellent debt servicing capability and financial flexibility.
  • Operating cash flow of 336.78M provides exceptional 31.87x coverage of interest expenses 10.57M, showing strong debt service capability.
  • Strong tangible asset base of 3.75B provides 25.67x coverage of total debt 146.13M, indicating robust asset backing and low credit risk.
  • Operating cash flow of 336.78M provides strong 43.55x coverage of stock compensation 7.73M, indicating sustainable incentive practices.
  • Robust free cash flow of 328.05M exceeds capital expenditure of 8.73M by 37.57x, indicating strong organic growth funding capability.

Bear case

  • Operating cash flow of 336.78M barely covers its investment activities of (282.98M), with a coverage ratio of -1.19, indicating heavy reliance on external financing for growth which may not be sustainable in a tighter credit environment.
  • Operating cash flow of 336.78M provides thin coverage of dividend payments of (16.28M) with a -20.69 ratio, suggesting potential dividend sustainability issues if operational performance deteriorates.
  • Operating cash flow of 336.78M provides insufficient coverage of deferred revenue obligations of 691.43M, which is 0.49x, raising concerns about future service delivery capabilities.
  • Retained earnings of 688.05M provide limited buffer against comprehensive income items of (11M), which is -62.57x, indicating elevated exposure to market risks.
  • R&D investment of 0 represents just 0x of SG&A expenses of 454.54M, indicating potential underinvestment in innovation relative to administrative overhead.

Peer comparison

Companies in the Insurance - Property & Casualty
S.No. Ticker Company Market Cap P/E P/S Total Debt (Qtr)
1 PGR Progressive Corp/Oh/ 121.46 Bn 30.80 3.11 6.90 Bn
2 CB Chubb Ltd 109.27 Bn 36.88 5.64 21.01 Bn
3 ALL Allstate Corp 69.21 Bn 29.01 1.62 8.09 Bn
4 TRV Travelers Companies, Inc. 67.61 Bn 10.75 1.38 9.27 Bn
5 HIG Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. 61.19 Bn 37.09 3.27 4.37 Bn
6 WRB Berkley W R Corp 38.52 Bn 124.63 8.69 2.87 Bn
7 CINF Cincinnati Financial Corp 26.91 Bn 74.14 6.73 0.88 Bn
8 MKL Markel Group Inc. 26.46 Bn 13.00 1.68 4.28 Bn

Industry comparisons

Current Valuation Value Ind Avg Percentile
EV to Assets EV to Assets 0.25 0.50
EV to Cash from Ops. EV/CFO 52.90 -16.03
EV to Debt EV to Debt 6.52 11.42
EV to EBIT EV/EBIT -48.99 22.13
EV to EBITDA EV/EBITDA -88.17 17.53
EV to Free Cash Flow [EV/FCF] EV/FCF 60.42 68.07
EV to Market Cap EV to Market Cap 0.95 0.91
EV to Revenue EV/Rev 0.95 2.31
Price to Book Value [P/B] P/B 1.33 2.97
Price to Earnings [P/E] P/E -79.22 29.62
Dividend Metrics Value Ind Avg Percentile
Dividend Coverage Ratio Div Coverage (Qtr) 6.83 7.41
Dividend Payout Ratio % Div Payout % (Qtr) 14.60 19.66
Dividend per Basic Share Div per Share (Qtr) 0.64 1.49
FCF Dividend Payout Ratio % FCF Div Payout % (Qtr) 4.98 37.69
Interest Coverage Int. cover (Qtr) 14.18 -9.19
Growth Metrics Value Ind Avg Percentile
Capex Growth (1y) % Capex 1y % (Qtr) 25.88 -17.83
Cash and Equivalents Growth (1y) % Cash & Equiv 1y % (Qtr) 18.43 30.27
Dividend Growth (1y) % Div 1y % (Qtr) 0.00 16.34
EBIAT Growth (1y) % EBIAT 1y % (Qtr) 118.73 62.82
EBITDA Growth (1y) % EBITDA 1y % (Qtr) 104.57 35.62
EBIT Growth (1y) % EBIT 1y % (Qtr) 122.69 56.25
EBT Growth (1y) % EBT 1y % (Qtr) 126.03 52.70
EPS Growth (1y) % EPS 1y % (Qtr) 122.34 48.20
FCF Growth (1y) % FCF 1y % (Qtr) 126.00 15.47
Gross Profit Growth (1y) % Gross Profit 1y % (Qtr) 29.41 16.55
Liquidity Ratios Value Ind Avg Percentile
Asset Utilization Ratio Asset Util Ratio (Qtr) 0.36 0.38
Cash Payout Ratio Cash Payout (Qtr) 0.05 0.45
Cash Ratio Cash Ratio 0.00 0.02
Current Ratio Current Ratio 0.00 0.06
Debt to Equity Ratio Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.16 0.23
Interest Cover Ratio Int Coverage (Qtr) 14.18 -9.19
Times Interest Earned Times Interest Earned (Qtr) 14.18 -9.19
Profitability Value Ind Avg Percentile
EBITDA Margin % EBITDA Margin % (Qtr) 11.80 14.01
EBIT Margin % EBIT Margin % (Qtr) 11.07 13.05
EBT Margin % EBT Margin % (Qtr) 10.29 12.25
Gross Margin % Gross Margin % (Qtr) 44.70 40.49
Net Profit Margin % Net Margin % (Qtr) 8.20 9.63