Renaissance Technologies LLC Decreases Stake in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 51.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,910 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 71,600 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $2,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,511,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,945,000 after buying an additional 35,338 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in United Fire Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,489,968 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,219,000 after buying an additional 12,329 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in United Fire Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 809,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,410,000 after acquiring an additional 3,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United Fire Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 615,052 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,361,000 after acquiring an additional 29,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in United Fire Group by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 419,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,751,000 after acquiring an additional 72,169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Fire Group

In other news, Director George D. Milligan purchased 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 90,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,072,237.82. This trade represents a 5.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JonesTrading raised their target price on United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Fire Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.50.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UFCS opened at $54.47 on Monday. United Fire Group, Inc has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $55.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $50.25 and its 200 day moving average is $43.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $347.76 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 15.19%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to buyback 2,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.87%.

United Fire Group Profile

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that specializes in property and casualty coverage for commercial and personal lines. The company underwrites business through three primary segments: commercial, personal and specialty insurance. Within the commercial segment, United Fire Group offers tailored policies for small- and medium-sized enterprises, including general liability, commercial property and workers’ compensation. Its personal lines cover homeowners, auto, farm and umbrella policies.

United Fire Group distributes its products primarily through a national network of independent insurance agents and brokers.