Dee Ann Mcintyre Sells 4,250 Shares of United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) Stock

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total transaction of $165,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 437,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,996,888.92. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UFCS traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 125,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,663. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $36.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. United Fire Group, Inc has a 12-month low of $25.01 and a 12-month high of $40.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $996.63 million, a P/E ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.44.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $365.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.34 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 8.52%. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This is a positive change from United Fire Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Fire Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in United Fire Group by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 117,441 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,459,000 after buying an additional 10,346 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 138,540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,081,000 after purchasing an additional 7,234 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in United Fire Group by 17.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in United Fire Group by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 21,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on UFCS. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. JonesTrading increased their price objective on United Fire Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Fire Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

United Fire Group Company Profile

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that specializes in property and casualty coverage for commercial and personal lines. The company underwrites business through three primary segments: commercial, personal and specialty insurance. Within the commercial segment, United Fire Group offers tailored policies for small- and medium-sized enterprises, including general liability, commercial property and workers’ compensation. Its personal lines cover homeowners, auto, farm and umbrella policies.

United Fire Group distributes its products primarily through a national network of independent insurance agents and brokers.