VCI Wealth Management LLC Purchases 23,079 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 23,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,214,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the third quarter worth about $73,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 9.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the third quarter worth about $634,000. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

United Fire Group stock opened at $57.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. United Fire Group, Inc has a 12 month low of $29.92 and a 12 month high of $58.19. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.67. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.47.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.61. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 15.19%. The company had revenue of $383.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $347.76 million. Research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is 14.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Fire Group

In related news, Director Scott Carlton sold 9,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.52, for a total transaction of $542,819.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 200,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,134,647.04. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UFCS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Fire Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on United Fire Group from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

United Fire Group Profile

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ: UFCS) is an insurance holding company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides property and casualty insurance products to businesses, individuals, and organizations, primarily through a network of independent insurance agents.

Its product portfolio includes commercial property and liability coverage, commercial automobile insurance, workers’ compensation, surety bonds, and specialty insurance products.