New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 1,700 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its position in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.14% of United Fire Group worth $1,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 37,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 44,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Centiva Capital LP raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 21.5% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 12,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 502,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Activity at United Fire Group

In other news, Director James Noyce bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.97 per share, for a total transaction of $53,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,712.52. This represents a 7.90 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.60, for a total value of $78,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $370,680.80. This represents a 17.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS stock opened at $25.47 on Monday. United Fire Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.04 and a fifty-two week high of $31.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $645.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.18.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.64. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 4.94%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Profile

United Fire Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products.