Lion Street Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Lion Street Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 9,350 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 37,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,061,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in United Fire Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 44,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $923,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Centiva Capital LP boosted its holdings in United Fire Group by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 12,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,278 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in United Fire Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 502,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of UFCS stock opened at $25.48 on Thursday. United Fire Group, Inc. has a one year low of $18.04 and a one year high of $31.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.79. The stock has a market cap of $645.66 million, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.53.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $322.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.80 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 6.75%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is 32.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Fire Group

In other United Fire Group news, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.60, for a total transaction of $78,854.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,680.80. This trade represents a 17.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday.

United Fire Group Company 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.