Royce & Associates LP Makes New $2.13 Million Investment in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 70,136 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,000. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.27% of United Fire Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UFCS. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 17.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 5.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 68,886 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,977,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Fire Group Stock Down 3.3%

UFCS opened at $37.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $963.89 million, a P/E ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.39. United Fire Group, Inc has a 52 week low of $25.01 and a 52 week high of $40.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $365.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.34 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This is a positive change from United Fire Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is currently 17.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UFCS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. JonesTrading boosted their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Fire Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.50.

Insider Activity at United Fire Group

In other news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total transaction of $163,582.50. Following the sale, the director owned 429,113 shares in the company, valued at $16,516,559.37. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total value of $165,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 437,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,996,888.92. This represents a 0.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 12,750 shares of company stock worth $493,723 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.12% of the company’s stock.

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.