United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,623 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,352 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.39% of United Fire Group worth $2,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UFCS. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in United Fire Group during the second quarter worth about $223,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 190,672 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,098,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 46,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares during the period. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UFCS. Piper Sandler raised shares of United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS stock opened at $26.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $671.00 million, a P/E ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.50. United Fire Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.04 and a fifty-two week high of $31.70.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $322.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.80 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 6.75%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.99%.

Insider Activity at United Fire Group

In other United Fire Group news, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the business’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 transaction of $78,854.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,523 shares in the company, valued at $370,680.80. The trade was a 17.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Company 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.