Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 35,338 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,511,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,338 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 5.93% of United Fire Group worth $54,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,466,752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,618,000 after buying an additional 7,230 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 419,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,751,000 after buying an additional 72,169 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 59.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 301,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,641,000 after buying an additional 112,318 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 227,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,913,000 after buying an additional 31,400 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 79.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 211,339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,429,000 after buying an additional 93,525 shares during the period. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JonesTrading raised their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

United Fire Group Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of United Fire Group stock opened at $48.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $39.78 and its 200 day moving average is $37.44. United Fire Group, Inc has a 1 year low of $25.79 and a 1 year high of $49.87.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $369.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.16 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.16% and a return on equity of 14.65%. Equities research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Fire Group

In related news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total transaction of $163,582.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 429,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,516,559.37. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total transaction of $165,070.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 437,613 shares in the company, valued at $16,996,888.92. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,750 shares of company stock worth $493,723 over the last ninety days. 6.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Fire Group Company 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.