Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 29,419 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Two Sigma Investments LP decreased its position in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 30.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,719 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 29,419 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.26% of United Fire Group worth $1,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 4.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 55,616 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Fire Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,350,237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $38,414,000 after acquiring an additional 16,588 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in United Fire Group by 13.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in United Fire Group by 1.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in United Fire Group by 78.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UFCS. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jones Trading reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total transaction of $70,825.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 441,863 shares in the company, valued at $12,517,978.79. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.12% of the company's stock.

United Fire Group Trading Down 1.1%

UFCS traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 139,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,479. The firm has a market capitalization of $714.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.49. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.04 and a 1 year high of $31.70. The stock's 50-day moving average is $27.79 and its 200-day moving average is $27.88.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.08. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The firm had revenue of $308.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $336.18 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. United Fire Group's payout ratio is 25.30%.

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.