Inceptionr LLC Makes New $255,000 Investment in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in United Fire Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in United Fire Group by 576.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 4,611 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,864 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter worth about $231,000. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $266,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jones Trading raised shares of United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS opened at $27.96 on Monday. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.04 and a 52 week high of $31.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $709.65 million, a P/E ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.76.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.64. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 8.84%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total transaction of $70,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 441,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,517,978.79. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,680.80. The trade was a 17.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,664 shares of company stock valued at $217,954 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

About United Fire Group

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.