BlackRock Inc. Takes Position in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,492,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $183,136,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of United Fire Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in United Fire Group by 129.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in United Fire Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 109.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 812.8% in 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. bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Fire Group

In other United Fire Group news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 90,034 shares in the company, valued at $4,072,237.82. The trade was a 5.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on UFCS. Wall Street Zen lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. JonesTrading raised their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.50.

United Fire Group Price Performance

UFCS opened at $53.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.17. United Fire Group, Inc has a 12-month low of $29.74 and a 12-month high of $55.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.51.

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

United Fire Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

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

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.