Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Acquires 31,400 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 16.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 227,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,400 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $6,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in United Fire Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in United Fire Group by 7.1% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 68,886 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UFCS. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. JonesTrading boosted their price objective on United Fire Group from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of United Fire Group stock opened at $38.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $982.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.46. United Fire Group, Inc has a twelve month low of $25.01 and a twelve month high of $40.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.56 and its 200 day moving average is $33.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.60. The business 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 14.19% and a net margin of 8.52%. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from United Fire Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio is 14.29%.

About United Fire Group

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.