Earnest Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC significantly decreased its holdings in United Fire Group, Inc by 83.1%, from 1,235,762 shares to 208,303 shares in the first quarter.
• United Fire Group reported $0.90 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, despite revenues of $314.80 million falling short of the forecast.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, reflecting a 2.0% annualized yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 18.23%.

Earnest Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 83.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 208,303 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,027,459 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.82% of United Fire Group worth $6,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 4th quarter valued at $980,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in United Fire Group by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 98,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,809,000 after purchasing an additional 54,332 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Fire Group in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in United Fire Group by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,405,320 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 83.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 10,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 4,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UFCS. Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Jones Trading raised their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $30.50.

United Fire Group Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of UFCS stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $30.39. 29,266 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 125,948. The stock has a market cap of $774.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $28.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.18. United Fire Group, Inc has a 12-month low of $19.19 and a 12-month high of $32.13.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $314.80 million during 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%. On average, analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. United Fire Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.23%.

About United Fire Group

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.