JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Holdings in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,623 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,352 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $2,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UFCS. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised 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 buying an additional 4,611 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in United Fire Group by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,864 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 3,098 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth $213,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in United Fire Group during the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ UFCS opened at $26.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $671.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.54. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.04 and a 52 week high of $31.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.50.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.60. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $322.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.99%.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In other news, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.60, for a total transaction of $78,854.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,523 shares in the company, valued at $370,680.80. This represents a 17.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler raised shares of United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

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.