United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Shares Sold by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. cut its stake in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 22,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,420 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 821,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,195,000 after acquiring an additional 17,415 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 502,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 11.0% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 485,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,164,000 after purchasing an additional 48,049 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 71.9% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the third quarter worth $2,740,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jones Trading raised shares of United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

United Fire Group Stock Down 1.0 %

UFCS stock opened at $28.76 on Friday. United Fire Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.04 and a fifty-two week high of $31.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.26. The stock has a market cap of $729.96 million, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.45.

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

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $68,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 446,863 shares in the company, valued at $12,203,828.53. This represents a 0.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James Noyce bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.97 per share, with a total value of $53,940.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,316 shares in the company, valued at $736,712.52. This represents a 7.90 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Company 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.