Short Interest in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Drops By 15.7%

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 423,800 shares, a decrease of 15.7% from the October 31st total of 502,500 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 124,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $65,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 576.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 4,611 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in United Fire Group by 82.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,864 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098 shares in the last quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Fire Group in the second quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in United Fire Group in the first quarter worth about $202,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UFCS shares. Piper Sandler raised United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock 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 report on Friday, October 4th.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of UFCS stock opened at $30.60 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.66. United Fire Group has a one year low of $18.04 and a one year high of $31.14. The company has a market capitalization of $775.40 million, a P/E ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 0.37.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $322.96 million for 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that United Fire Group will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.99%.

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.