United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Stock Position Increased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC grew its position in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 147.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,380 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,469 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. State Street Corp increased its position in United Fire Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 821,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,195,000 after acquiring an additional 17,415 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in United Fire Group by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 485,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,164,000 after acquiring an additional 48,049 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in United Fire Group by 576.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 4,611 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the third quarter worth $2,740,000. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UFCS. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.60, for a total transaction of $78,854.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $370,680.80. The trade was a 17.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UFCS opened at $28.37 on Tuesday. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.04 and a 1 year high of $31.70. The firm has a market cap of $718.95 million, a P/E ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.83.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.60. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 4.15%. The business had revenue of $322.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.99%.

United Fire Group 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.