Legato Capital Management LLC Makes New $487,000 Investment in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 13,404 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in United Fire Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,511,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,945,000 after buying an additional 35,338 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in United Fire Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,466,752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,618,000 after buying an additional 7,230 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in United Fire Group by 20.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 419,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,751,000 after buying an additional 72,169 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Fire Group by 59.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 301,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,641,000 after buying an additional 112,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in United Fire Group by 16.0% during the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 227,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,913,000 after buying an additional 31,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total value of $165,070.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 437,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,996,888.92. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total value of $163,582.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 429,113 shares in the company, valued at $16,516,559.37. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,750 shares of company stock worth $493,723 in the last quarter. 6.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UFCS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on United Fire Group from $45.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JonesTrading raised their price target on United Fire Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $47.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. United Fire Group, Inc has a 52 week low of $25.79 and a 52 week high of $49.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.31.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $369.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.16 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 9.16%. Equities research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.13%.

United Fire Group 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.