Ieq Capital LLC Makes New Investment in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC has acquired a new stake in United Fire Group, purchasing 13,686 shares valued at approximately $403,000, representing 0.05% of the company's shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Systematic Financial Management LP and Jump Financial LLC, have increased their holdings in United Fire Group significantly during the first quarter of the year.
• United Fire Group reported an EPS of $0.90 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and has a dividend of $0.16 per share due on September 12th, offering a yield of 2.0%.

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,686 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $403,000. Ieq Capital LLC owned 0.05% of United Fire Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UFCS. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 252,449 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,437,000 after buying an additional 109,453 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in United Fire Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,652,000. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 552,194 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,710,000 after buying an additional 66,561 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,399,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,230,000 after buying an additional 49,290 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in United Fire Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UFCS shares. Zacks Research raised United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Jones Trading lifted their target price on United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Fire Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.50.

United Fire Group Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of United Fire Group stock traded down $0.63 on Friday, reaching $31.16. 98,763 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 119,026. United Fire Group, Inc has a 1-year low of $19.19 and a 1-year high of $32.13. The company has a market cap of $794.27 million, a P/E ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $28.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.29.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $314.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $337.99 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 6.94%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. United Fire Group's dividend payout ratio is 18.23%.

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.