Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Takes $737,000 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 position in United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in United Fire Group by 4.1% during 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. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 3.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,399,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,230,000 after acquiring an additional 49,290 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake 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 worth $15,710,000 after buying an additional 66,561 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in United Fire Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 220,022 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,260,000 after buying an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in United Fire Group by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,061,000 after buying an additional 78,254 shares during the period. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Fire Group Trading Up 3.0%

UFCS stock traded up $0.86 during trading on Monday, hitting $29.92. The company had a trading volume of 167,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,869. The firm has a market capitalization of $762.66 million, a P/E ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.53. United Fire Group, Inc has a 52-week low of $18.35 and a 52-week high of $31.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.60. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.33. The business 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on UFCS. 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. Jones Trading raised their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday.

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.