United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Major Shareholder Sells $68,275.00 in Stock

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $68,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 446,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,203,828.53. This represents a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

United Fire Group Trading Down 2.2 %

UFCS stock opened at $27.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $709.65 million, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.45. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.04 and a 12-month high of $31.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.70.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.64. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 4.94%. On average, research analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jones Trading raised United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Fire Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,740,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in United Fire Group by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,877 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,061,000 after buying an additional 78,254 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in United Fire Group by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 178,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,729,000 after buying an additional 74,540 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in United Fire Group by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 142,996 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,068,000 after buying an additional 66,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in United Fire Group by 126.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 119,324 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 66,676 shares during the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.