United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Short Interest Update

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

United Fire Group Price Performance

UFCS opened at $30.60 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.63. United Fire Group has a 12 month low of $18.04 and a 12 month high of $31.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $775.47 million, a P/E ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 0.37.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 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 analyst estimates of $306.80 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 6.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UFCS. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in United Fire Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 44,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 193,283 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,154,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,986 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in United Fire Group by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,108 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 6.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.