Man Group plc Acquires Shares of 37,048 United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Man Group plc bought a new position in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 37,048 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,943,000. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.14% of United Fire Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in United Fire Group during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in United Fire Group by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 812.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In other news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 90,034 shares in the company, valued at $4,072,237.82. This trade represents a 5.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

UFCS stock opened at $54.15 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.53. United Fire Group, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $29.74 and a fifty-two week high of $55.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.52.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $383.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.76 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 9.57%. Analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on UFCS. Piper Sandler increased their price target on United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Fire Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, JonesTrading lifted their price target on United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.50.

United Fire Group 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.