Globeflex Capital L P Invests $119,000 in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,191 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $119,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 821,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,195,000 after purchasing an additional 17,415 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 2,925 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew 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 buying an additional 48,049 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew 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 buying an additional 74,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 133,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,796,000 after buying an additional 14,110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James Noyce purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.97 per share, for a total transaction of $53,940.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 27,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,712.52. The trade was a 7.90 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $370,680.80. This represents a 17.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,664 shares of company stock worth $217,954 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of UFCS opened at $29.13 on Friday. United Fire Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.04 and a twelve month high of $31.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $739.35 million, a PE ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 0.45.

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

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.