Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 9,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UFCS. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 108.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 347,008 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,959,000 after acquiring an additional 180,836 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in United Fire Group by 236.4% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 235,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,576,000 after acquiring an additional 165,789 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Fire Group by 59.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 301,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,641,000 after acquiring an additional 112,318 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in United Fire Group by 79.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 211,339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,429,000 after purchasing an additional 93,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in United Fire Group in the third quarter worth about $2,080,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Fire Group news, Director George D. Milligan bought 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UFCS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on United Fire Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research cut United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. JonesTrading raised their target price on United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of United Fire Group stock opened at $52.11 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 0.50. United Fire Group, Inc has a 1-year low of $25.79 and a 1-year high of $54.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.98.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $369.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.15 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.16% and a return on equity of 14.65%. On average, equities analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 2,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.20 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 16.13%.

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.