Invesco Ltd. Lowers Holdings in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has reduced its stake in United Fire Group, Inc. by 7.7%, holding 166,172 shares worth approximately $4.9 million after selling 13,900 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have recently upgraded United Fire Group with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $30.50, with some firms moving their ratings to "strong-buy".
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, indicating an annualized dividend yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 18.23%.

Invesco Ltd. reduced its position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 166,172 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 13,900 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.65% of United Fire Group worth $4,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Fire Group in the 1st quarter worth about $737,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 151,760 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,471,000 after buying an additional 18,326 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 worth $41,230,000 after buying an additional 49,290 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 75.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 6,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 91.9% in the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 24,918 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 11,934 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $30.38. 114,193 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 124,701. United Fire Group, Inc has a 12-month low of $19.19 and a 12-month high of $32.13. 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 company has a market cap of $774.39 million, a P/E ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.19.

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

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on UFCS. Jones Trading lifted their price objective on United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Fire Group has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.