11,330 Shares in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Purchased by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 11,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its position in United Fire Group by 716.3% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 2,149 shares during the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in United Fire Group in the 4th quarter valued at $119,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in United Fire Group during the 4th quarter worth $131,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $28.62 on Friday. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.04 and a 1 year high of $31.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $728.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.49.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.08. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The business had revenue of $308.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.18 million. On average, analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is 25.30%.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In other news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total transaction of $70,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 441,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,517,978.79. The trade was a 0.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on UFCS. Jones Trading restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, May 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

United Fire Group Profile

United Fire Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products.