Zacks Investment Research Upgrades FBL Financial Group, Inc. (FFG) to “Buy”

FBL Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:FFG) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday. The firm currently has a $77.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 11.68% from the stock’s previous close.

According to Zacks, “FBL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. is a holding company and hrough its subsidiaries underwrites, markets and distributes life insurance, annuities, property-casualty insurance and mutual funds to individuals and small businesses in 15 midwestern and western states. The Company has exclusive marketing arrangements with the state Farm Bureau Federations in its territory and targets sales to approximately 700,000 Farm Bureau member families and other rural, small town andsuburban residents through an exclusive agency force. The Company offers a full range of life insurance products. “

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BidaskClub upgraded shares of FBL Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. Raymond James Financial, Inc. upgraded shares of FBL Financial Group from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th.

Shares of FBL Financial Group (FFG) opened at 68.95 on Thursday. FBL Financial Group has a 1-year low of $59.75 and a 1-year high of $82.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $68.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.07.

FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.19. FBL Financial Group had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The company had revenue of $189 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that FBL Financial Group will post $4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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In related news, Director Scott Vanderwal sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.46, for a total value of $140,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $281,840. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. increased its stake in shares of FBL Financial Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. now owns 24,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Aperio Group LLC increased its stake in shares of FBL Financial Group by 1.7% in the second quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 11,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of FBL Financial Group by 1.4% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 14,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $883,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Eqis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of FBL Financial Group by 7.1% in the first quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, American International Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of FBL Financial Group by 7.2% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 6,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.41% of the company’s stock.

FBL Financial Group Company Profile

FBL Financial Group, Inc sells individual life insurance and annuity products under the brand name of Farm Bureau Financial Services. The Company’s segments are Annuity Segment, which sells a variety of traditional annuity products; Life Insurance Segment, which sells a range of traditional and universal life insurance products, and Corporate and Other segment, which provides various support operations, corporate capital and other product lines.