United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Short Interest Update

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 251,500 shares, a decrease of 20.2% from the December 31st total of 315,300 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 137,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UFCS. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the second quarter worth about $535,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 929.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 99,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 90,139 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the second quarter worth approximately $453,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 24.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 84,253 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 16,495 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 40.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 234,214 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,033,000 after buying an additional 67,838 shares during the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ UFCS opened at $24.81 on Friday. United Fire Group has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $31.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.38 and a 200-day moving average of $23.71. The company has a market capitalization of $628.74 million, a P/E ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.54.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $322.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.80 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 4.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that United Fire Group will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler raised United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th.

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.