Insider Selling: United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Director Sells $165,070.00 in Stock

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) Director Christopher Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total transaction of $165,070.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 437,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,996,888.92. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ UFCS opened at $37.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $964.40 million, a PE ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. United Fire Group, Inc has a 52-week low of $25.01 and a 52-week high of $40.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.44.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $365.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.34 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. On average, research analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from United Fire Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UFCS has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on United Fire Group from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JonesTrading increased their price target on United Fire Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $371,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 15,983 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the fourth quarter worth about $228,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in United Fire Group by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 87,973 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 23,273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

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.