GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires New Position in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 31,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,677,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned approximately 0.12% of United Fire Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,511,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,945,000 after buying an additional 35,338 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 111.0% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 57,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,095,000 after buying an additional 30,328 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 320.9% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 50,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after buying an additional 38,825 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in United Fire Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,524,000. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Fire Group during the first quarter worth $933,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George D. Milligan purchased 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $45.23 per share, with a total value of $203,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 90,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,072,237.82. This represents a 5.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UFCS shares. Zacks Research downgraded United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JonesTrading upped their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

United Fire Group Price Performance

United Fire Group stock opened at $54.28 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.51. United Fire Group, Inc has a 52 week low of $29.74 and a 52 week high of $55.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.61. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 15.19%. The firm had revenue of $383.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $347.76 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 2,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

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

About United Fire Group

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.