Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Cuts Stock Holdings in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Key Points

• Tudor Investment Corp cut its stake in United Fire Group by 52.7% in Q3 to 57,433 shares, while other large funds (Vanguard, Dimensional, Invesco, AQR) increased positions; institutional ownership stands at about 62.7%.
• United Fire Group beat estimates with $1.50 EPS (vs. $0.90 expected) and higher-than-expected revenue, has a market cap of ~$1.0B and a P/E of 8.74, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (annualized $0.80, ~2.0% yield).
• Insiders sold 12,750 shares in the past three months (insiders own 6.12%), and analysts are mixed with an average target of $40.50 and an overall rating of "Moderate Buy."

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL reduced its position in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 52.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,433 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 63,981 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned 0.23% of United Fire Group worth $1,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in United Fire Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,476,203 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $44,906,000 after buying an additional 36,952 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,466,752 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,618,000 after purchasing an additional 7,230 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 20.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 419,177 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,751,000 after purchasing an additional 72,169 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 59.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 301,076 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,641,000 after purchasing an additional 112,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of United Fire Group by 16.0% in the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 227,268 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,913,000 after purchasing an additional 31,400 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Fire Group Price Performance

United Fire Group stock opened at $39.14 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $37.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. United Fire Group, Inc has a twelve month low of $25.76 and a twelve month high of $40.63.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $365.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.34 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 8.52%. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from United Fire Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. United Fire Group's dividend payout ratio is 17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 4,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total transaction of $165,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 437,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,996,888.92. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 4,250 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total transaction of $163,582.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 429,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,516,559.37. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,750 shares of company stock valued at $493,723. Corporate insiders own 6.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UFCS. JonesTrading upped their price target on United Fire Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research lowered United Fire Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of United Fire Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on United Fire Group from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Fire Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.50.

United Fire Group Profile

United Fire Group, Inc NASDAQ: UFCS is an insurance holding company based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that specializes in property and casualty coverage for commercial and personal lines. The company underwrites business through three primary segments: commercial, personal and specialty insurance. Within the commercial segment, United Fire Group offers tailored policies for small- and medium-sized enterprises, including general liability, commercial property and workers' compensation. Its personal lines cover homeowners, auto, farm and umbrella policies.

United Fire Group distributes its products primarily through a national network of independent insurance agents and brokers.

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