US Bancorp DE Sells 6,000 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 41.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 576.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 4,611 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,864 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UFCS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jones Trading raised shares of United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Activity at United Fire Group

In other news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total transaction of $70,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 441,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,517,978.79. The trade was a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James Noyce acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.97 per share, with a total value of $53,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,712.52. This represents a 7.90 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,664 shares of company stock valued at $217,954. 5.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Fire Group Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of UFCS opened at $29.13 on Friday. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.04 and a 12-month high of $31.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $739.35 million, a P/E ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 0.45.

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

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.89%.

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.