United Fire Group saw its IBD SmartSelect Composite Rating rise to 96 Friday, up from 94 the day before.
The new rating is a sign the stock is outpacing 96% of all stocks when it comes to the most important stock-picking criteria. The market's biggest winners often have a 95 or higher grade in the early stages of a new price run, so that's a good starting point when looking for the best stocks to buy and watch.
United Fire Group is currently forming a consolidation, with a 31.70 buy point. See if the stock can break out in heavy trade at least 40% higher than normal. Be aware that it's a thinly traded stock, with average daily dollar volume under $8 million. Less liquid stocks are more prone to volatile action since it takes fewer shares bought or sold to move the share price.
Lean How — And When — To Sell Stocks
The stock sports an 81 EPS Rating, meaning its recent quarterly and annual earnings growth tops 81% of all stocks.
Its Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A shows heavy buying by institutional investors, such as mutual funds and pension funds, over the last 13 weeks.
The company reported a 92% rise in earnings for Q4. Top line growth fell to 16%, down from 18% in the previous quarter.
United Fire Group holds the No. 5 rank among its peers in the Insurance-Property/Casualty/Title industry group. Goosehead Insurance Cl A is the top-ranked stock within the group.
This article was created automatically with Stats Perform's Wordsmith software using data and article templates supplied by Investor's Business Daily. An IBD journalist may have edited the article.