Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires New Stake in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the second quarter worth about $65,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,000. Lion Street Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in United Fire Group during the first quarter worth $251,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Price Performance

NASDAQ UFCS opened at $20.61 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.46. The company has a market capitalization of $521.35 million, a P/E ratio of -29.87 and a beta of 0.36. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.04 and a 1-year high of $25.55.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.03). United Fire Group had a net margin of 3.17% and a return on equity of 5.23%. The firm had revenue of $301.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($2.27) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. United Fire Group’s payout ratio is currently -92.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UFCS shares. StockNews.com downgraded United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

United Fire Group Company Profile

United Fire Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products.