Inspire Investing LLC Buys Shares of 32,821 United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 32,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $998,000. Inspire Investing LLC owned about 0.13% of United Fire Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 301.2% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in United Fire Group by 17.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in United Fire Group by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $178,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on UFCS shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on United Fire Group from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Jones Trading upped their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ UFCS opened at $36.44 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $929.58 million, a PE ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.47. United Fire Group, Inc has a twelve month low of $24.11 and a twelve month high of $37.90.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.81. United Fire Group had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $354.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $354.46 million. Equities analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.09%.

United Fire Group Profile

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.