United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Director Sells 9,777 Shares of Stock

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) Director Scott Carlton sold 9,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $542,819.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 200,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,134,647.04. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of UFCS traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.02. 217,904 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,724. United Fire Group, Inc has a 1-year low of $29.74 and a 1-year high of $56.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.93 and a 200-day moving average of $45.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.52.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.61. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 15.19% and a net margin of 9.57%.The company had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.76 million. Analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.87%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on UFCS. Weiss Ratings raised United Fire Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen cut United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in United Fire Group by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in United Fire Group by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.