43,882 Shares in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS Bought by Globeflex Capital L P

Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 43,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,301,000. Globeflex Capital L P owned about 0.17% of United Fire Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the second quarter worth about $183,136,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,511,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,945,000 after acquiring an additional 35,338 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,489,968 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,219,000 after acquiring an additional 12,329 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 809,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 615,052 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,361,000 after acquiring an additional 29,679 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Fire Group Price Performance

NASDAQ UFCS opened at $53.02 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.69. United Fire Group, Inc has a twelve month low of $29.74 and a twelve month high of $55.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $383.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.76 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 9.57%. Research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.87%.

United Fire Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UFCS shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JonesTrading upped their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 90,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,072,237.82. The trade was a 5.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Profile

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that specializes in property and casualty coverage for commercial and personal lines. The company underwrites business through three primary segments: commercial, personal and specialty insurance. Within the commercial segment, United Fire Group offers tailored policies for small- and medium-sized enterprises, including general liability, commercial property and workers’ compensation. Its personal lines cover homeowners, auto, farm and umbrella policies.

United Fire Group distributes its products primarily through a national network of independent insurance agents and brokers.