D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires 15,016 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,016 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.34% of United Fire Group worth $2,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UFCS. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 66,148 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in United Fire Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 37,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 55,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Jones Trading restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Fire Group news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total value of $70,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 441,863 shares in the company, valued at $12,517,978.79. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 6.12% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UFCS opened at $28.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.58. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.04 and a 12-month high of $31.70. The company has a market capitalization of $723.32 million, a PE ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 0.49.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.08. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 4.94%. The company had revenue of $308.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.18 million. On average, analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.30%.

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.