United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 555,700 shares, a growth of 30.1% from the September 30th total of 427,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 115,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UFCS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Fire Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in United Fire Group by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,293,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,794,000 after acquiring an additional 27,376 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in United Fire Group by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 437,584 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,404,000 after acquiring an additional 45,405 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in United Fire Group by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 315,779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,609,000 after acquiring an additional 93,836 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in United Fire Group by 40.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 234,214 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,033,000 after acquiring an additional 67,838 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in United Fire Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 193,283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UFCS traded up $0.43 during trading on Monday, hitting $20.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 101,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,153. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.31 and a 200-day moving average of $21.19. United Fire Group has a 12 month low of $18.04 and a 12 month high of $25.55. The firm has a market cap of $509.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.36.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.03). United Fire Group had a return on equity of 5.23% and a net margin of 3.17%. The business had revenue of $301.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $300.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.27) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.76%.

About United Fire Group

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.