Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 945 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 37,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 6.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in United Fire Group by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 190,672 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,098,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 46,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $535,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 929.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 99,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 90,139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $25.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $642.88 million, a PE ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 0.54. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $31.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.61 and a 200 day moving average of $23.67.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $322.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business earned $0.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.16 dividend. 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 2.52%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is 32.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In other news, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.60, for a total value of $78,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,680.80. The trade was a 17.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Profile

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.