Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in United Fire Group by 20.9%, now holding 186,466 shares valued at approximately $5.5 million.
• Various institutional investors, including Allspring Global Investments and Teacher Retirement System of Texas, have also made changes to their positions in United Fire Group, highlighting a growing interest in the company.
• Analysts have recently increased the price targets for United Fire Group, with consensus ratings indicating a Buy status and a target price of **$30.50**.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,466 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 49,342 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.73% of United Fire Group worth $5,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,936 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 131.3% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 270.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,558 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 15,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company's stock.

United Fire Group Trading Down 1.2%

UFCS stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.38. The company had a trading volume of 114,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,701. The firm has a market capitalization of $774.39 million, a P/E ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.57. United Fire Group, Inc has a 52-week low of $19.19 and a 52-week high of $32.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $314.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $337.99 million. United Fire Group had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 11.84%. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. United Fire Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UFCS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jones Trading increased their target price on shares of United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

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.