Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $55.22 Million Stake in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,489,968 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,329 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.06% of United Fire Group worth $55,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UFCS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in United Fire Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,511,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,945,000 after buying an additional 35,338 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Fire Group by 111.0% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 57,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,095,000 after acquiring an additional 30,328 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,524,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in United Fire Group by 320.9% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 50,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after acquiring an additional 38,825 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $487,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ UFCS opened at $51.36 on Friday. United Fire Group, Inc has a 1 year low of $25.79 and a 1 year high of $54.42. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.71.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.29. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.16% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The company had revenue of $369.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.15 million. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.13%.

United Fire Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 90,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,072,237.82. This represents a 5.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

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.