Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 25,171 United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 25,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UFCS. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 9.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 117,441 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,459,000 after acquiring an additional 10,346 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in United Fire Group by 4.6% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 138,540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,081,000 after purchasing an additional 7,234 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 21,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George D. Milligan bought 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $203,535.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 90,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,072,237.82. The trade was a 5.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 6.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Fire Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $53.93 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. United Fire Group, Inc has a 1-year low of $25.79 and a 1-year high of $54.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.50.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.29. United Fire Group had a net margin of 9.16% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $369.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.15 million. Equities analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.13%.

United Fire Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 2,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.