CSM Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

CSM Advisors LLC cut its holdings in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 16.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 23,445 shares during the quarter. CSM Advisors LLC owned 0.48% of United Fire Group worth $3,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 117,441 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,459,000 after buying an additional 10,346 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in United Fire Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 138,540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,081,000 after acquiring an additional 7,234 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Fire Group by 17.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in United Fire Group by 29.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 21,999 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UFCS shares. Zacks Research lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. JonesTrading increased their price target on United Fire Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.50.

United Fire Group Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ UFCS opened at $37.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $951.39 million, a PE ratio of 8.32 and a beta of 0.44. United Fire Group, Inc has a 12 month low of $25.01 and a 12 month high of $40.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $365.81 million during 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Fire Group news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total transaction of $163,582.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 429,113 shares in the company, valued at $16,516,559.37. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total value of $165,070.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 437,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,996,888.92. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,750 shares of company stock valued at $493,723 in the last quarter. 6.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Fire Group Company 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.