R Squared Ltd Invests $354,000 in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,557 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Fire Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 1st quarter worth $933,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the first quarter worth $359,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the fourth quarter worth $371,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its position 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 valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on UFCS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on United Fire Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JonesTrading upped their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

United Fire Group Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ UFCS opened at $52.52 on Wednesday. United Fire Group, Inc has a 52-week low of $25.79 and a 52-week high of $54.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.44 and a 200-day moving average of $40.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.50. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.29. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 9.16%.The business had revenue of $369.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.15 million. On average, analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.13%.

United Fire Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at United Fire Group

In other news, Director George D. Milligan acquired 4,500 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $45.23 per share, with a total value of $203,535.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 90,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,072,237.82. This trade represents a 5.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 6.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.