United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS Shares Sold by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 13.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,816 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.36% of United Fire Group worth $2,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of United Fire Group by 859.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 8,797 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 7,880 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in United Fire Group by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,399,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,230,000 after buying an additional 49,290 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Fire Group in the first quarter worth $737,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the first quarter valued at $783,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 76.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 252,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,437,000 after acquiring an additional 109,453 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Paul E. Besong sold 2,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total transaction of $79,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $790,176.44. This trade represents a 9.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 6.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UFCS opened at $37.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $946.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. United Fire Group, Inc has a 12 month low of $24.11 and a 12 month high of $37.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.68.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.81. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 6.94%.The firm had revenue of $354.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $354.46 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UFCS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Jones Trading 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. Finally, Zacks Research lowered United Fire Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

United Fire Group 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.