HighTower Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 11,854 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $65,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in United Fire Group by 82.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,864 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in United Fire Group in the second quarter worth about $213,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in United Fire Group during the second quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP boosted its holdings in United Fire Group by 21.5% during the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 12,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UFCS. Piper Sandler upgraded United Fire Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.60, for a total value of $78,854.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,523 shares in the company, valued at $370,680.80. The trade was a 17.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Fire Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of United Fire Group stock opened at $29.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $737.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.62. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.04 and a 1-year high of $31.70.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.60. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 4.15%. The business had revenue of $322.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is 32.99%.

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.