35,616 Shares in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS Acquired by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 35,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,022,000. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.14% of United Fire Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UFCS. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the second quarter valued at $4,154,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in United Fire Group by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 252,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,437,000 after purchasing an additional 109,453 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in United Fire Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,652,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United Fire Group by 79.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 188,758 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,561,000 after buying an additional 83,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 90.4% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 119,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after buying an additional 56,543 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on UFCS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. Jones Trading upped their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Paul E. Besong sold 2,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total transaction of $79,037.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,176.44. This represents a 9.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 6.12% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

United Fire Group stock opened at $36.92 on Friday. United Fire Group, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $24.11 and a fifty-two week high of $37.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $941.98 million, a P/E ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.97.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.81. United Fire Group had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The company had revenue of $354.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.46 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.