Royal Bank of Canada Reduces Holdings in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its holdings in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 22.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,426 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 32,980 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.44% of United Fire Group worth $4,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 108.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 347,008 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,959,000 after acquiring an additional 180,836 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 236.4% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 235,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,576,000 after purchasing an additional 165,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in United Fire Group by 59.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 301,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,641,000 after purchasing an additional 112,318 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in United Fire Group by 79.4% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 211,339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,429,000 after purchasing an additional 93,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in United Fire Group during the third quarter valued at about $2,080,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JonesTrading raised their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.50.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In related news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 approximately $4,072,237.82. This represents a 5.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of United Fire Group stock opened at $53.72 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.93. United Fire Group, Inc has a 52 week low of $29.74 and a 52 week high of $55.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.76 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 9.57%. As a group, analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.87%.

United Fire Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.