Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 185,359 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,720,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 129.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Fire Group

In related news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 90,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,072,237.82. The trade was a 5.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on UFCS. Zacks Research lowered shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised United Fire Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. JonesTrading boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $52.50.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS opened at $54.05 on Thursday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $52.19 and its 200-day moving average is $45.05. United Fire Group, Inc has a 12-month low of $29.74 and a 12-month high of $55.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.51.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.76 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 15.19%. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. 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 is currently 14.87%.

United Fire Group Company 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.