Foundry Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 71.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 74,540 shares during the quarter. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $3,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in United Fire Group by 11.6% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 437,584 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,404,000 after purchasing an additional 45,405 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,770,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,986 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $761,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler upgraded United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of United Fire Group stock opened at $29.66 on Friday. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.04 and a 1 year high of $29.77. The company has a market capitalization of $751.58 million, a P/E ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $21.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.35.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 4.15%. The firm had revenue of $322.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.99%.

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.