United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Insider Kelly A. Walsh Sells 4,700 Shares

United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) insider Kelly A. Walsh sold 4,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.11, for a total transaction of $99,217.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,189 shares in the company, valued at $341,749.79. This represents a 22.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

United Fire Group Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $25.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $640.34 million, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.54. 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 moving average is $28.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.57.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.60. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The business had revenue of $322.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Fire Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in United Fire Group by 147.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,380 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 26,469 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in United Fire Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 821,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,195,000 after buying an additional 17,415 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in United Fire Group by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 437,584 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,404,000 after buying an additional 45,405 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Fire Group during the 3rd quarter worth $256,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Fire Group by 0.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.