United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Shares Sold by Foundry Partners LLC

Foundry Partners LLC decreased its position in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 150,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 28,025 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $4,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 576.4% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 4,611 shares in the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the fourth quarter worth about $119,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the fourth quarter worth about $131,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its holdings in United Fire Group by 82.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jones Trading upgraded shares of United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

United Fire Group Stock Down 7.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ UFCS opened at $26.94 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.88. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $31.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $683.76 million, a P/E ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.45.

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

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Fire Group news, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $68,275.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 446,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,203,828.53. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James Noyce purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.97 per share, with a total value of $53,940.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,712.52. The trade was a 7.90 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.