Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Position in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in United Fire Group by 3.7%, now owning approximately 5.51% of the company, valued at about $41.23 million.
• United Fire Group received upgrades from Zacks Research and Jones Trading, with a current consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $30.50.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%, to be paid out on September 12th.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,399,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,290 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 5.51% of United Fire Group worth $41,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UFCS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $980,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in United Fire Group by 122.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 98,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 54,332 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in 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 worth $39,981,000 after acquiring an additional 55,616 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its position in United Fire Group by 83.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 10,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 4,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on UFCS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Jones Trading raised their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Fire Group has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.50.

United Fire Group Price Performance

UFCS traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.74. 141,488 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 127,193. The company has a market cap of $783.56 million, a PE ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $28.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.12. United Fire Group, Inc has a 1 year low of $19.19 and a 1 year high of $32.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick 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 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 analysts' expectations 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.