Overview

* United Fire ( UFCS ) Q2 net income rises to $22.9 mln

* Net written premium grows 14% to $372.9 mln

* Combined ratio improves 9.2 points to 96.4%, reflecting better catastrophe management

Outlook

* Company did not provide specific future guidance or projections in the release

Result Drivers

* COMMERCIAL LINES - Strong performance in core commercial lines led to a 14% increase in net written premium

* CATASTROPHE MANAGEMENT - Improved catastrophe management reduced catastrophe loss ratio by 5.7 points

* INVESTMENT INCOME - Net investment income increased 20% due to strategic portfolio management actions

Key Details

Metric Beat/Mis Actual Consensu

s s

Estimate

Q2 92.5%

Adjusted

Combined

Ratio

Q2 $23.74

Adjusted mln

Operatin

g Income

Q2 96.4%

Combined

Ratio

Q2 34.9%

Expense

Ratio

Analyst Coverage

* The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 1 "strong buy" or "buy", 2 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

* The average consensus recommendation for the property & casualty insurance peer group is "buy."

* Wall Street's median 12-month price target for United Fire Group Inc ( UFCS ) is $30.00, about 11.1% above its August 4 closing price of $26.66

* The stock recently traded at 10 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 11 three months ago

Press Release:

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)