United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Major Shareholder Sells $68,275.00 in Stock

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $68,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 446,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,203,828.53. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS stock opened at $27.96 on Friday. 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 PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.70.

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

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 716.3% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 2,149 shares during the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $119,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $131,000. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on UFCS. Jones Trading upgraded United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

United Fire Group Company Profile

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.