Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $531,000 in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in United Fire Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 812.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Fire Group news, Director Scott Carlton sold 9,777 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total value of $542,819.04. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

United Fire Group Price Performance

United Fire Group stock opened at $54.76 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.01 and a 200-day moving average of $46.32. United Fire Group, Inc has a 1 year low of $29.74 and a 1 year high of $56.74.

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

United Fire Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to repurchase 2,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company 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 is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.