Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Takes Position in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Key Points

• Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Fire Group, purchasing 25,031 shares valued at approximately $737,000 during the 1st quarter.
• United Fire Group received a rating upgrade from buy to strong-buy from Wall Street Zen, indicating growing confidence in the company's stock prospects.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16, reflecting a 2.2% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 18.23%.

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 25,031 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $737,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of United Fire Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of UFCS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,061,000 after acquiring an additional 78,254 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of United Fire Group by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 552,194 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,710,000 after purchasing an additional 66,561 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of United Fire Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,405,320 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55,616 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of United Fire Group by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 98,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,809,000 after purchasing an additional 54,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 49,290 shares during the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UFCS has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. 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 research report on Monday.

United Fire Group Trading Up 0.4%

UFCS traded up $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 53,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,348. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.62. 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 has a market cap of $782.93 million, a PE ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.53. United Fire Group, Inc has a twelve month low of $18.60 and a twelve month high of $31.70.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 6.94%. On average, analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. United Fire Group's payout ratio is 18.23%.

United Fire Group Company 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.