United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 42.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 16,605 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Fire Group by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in United Fire Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 812.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in United Fire Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UFCS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JonesTrading boosted their price target on United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

United Fire Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of UFCS opened at $52.45 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.50. United Fire Group, Inc has a one year low of $25.79 and a one year high of $54.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.29.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $369.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.15 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.16% and a return on equity of 14.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is 16.13%.

United Fire Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to buyback 2,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.23 per share, with a total value of $203,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 90,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,072,237.82. This trade represents a 5.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

About United Fire Group

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.