GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes Position in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 31,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in United Fire Group by 168.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 43,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 27,526 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 70,452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,611,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,489,968 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,219,000 after purchasing an additional 12,329 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the first quarter worth $237,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 11.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 21,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Fire Group news, Director George D. Milligan purchased 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director owned 90,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,072,237.82. This represents a 5.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

UFCS stock opened at $54.28 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.07. United Fire Group, Inc has a 52 week low of $29.74 and a 52 week high of $55.82.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $383.73 million for 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

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

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given 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 is 14.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.