Insider Selling: United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Insider Sells 4,700 Shares of Stock

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) insider Kelly A. Walsh sold 4,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.11, for a total value of $99,217.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,189 shares in the company, valued at $341,749.79. The trade was a 22.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $25.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.52. The company has a market cap of $649.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.54. United Fire Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.04 and a fifty-two week high of $31.70.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $322.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.80 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 4.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on UFCS shares. Piper Sandler upgraded United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Fire Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UFCS. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 3rd quarter worth $2,740,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 93,836 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 929.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 99,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,146,000 after buying an additional 90,139 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 178,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 74,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 40.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 234,214 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,033,000 after purchasing an additional 67,838 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

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.