Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $396,000 Holdings in United Fire Group, Inc $UFCS

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in United Fire Group by 593.5%, owning 13,398 shares valued at $396,000, as of its latest SEC filing.
• The company reported $0.90 EPS for the last quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.57, while its revenue reached $314.8 million.
• United Fire Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $0.64 and a dividend yield of 2.1%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 593.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,466 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of United Fire Group worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UFCS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $980,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 83.6% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 10,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 4,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 50,046 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 3,660 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UFCS. Wall Street Zen raised United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research raised United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Jones Trading lifted their target price on United Fire Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Fire Group has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $30.50.

United Fire Group Trading Up 4.5%

UFCS traded up $1.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $31.81. The company had a trading volume of 77,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,131. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $28.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.21. The company has a market cap of $810.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 0.57. United Fire Group, Inc has a 12-month low of $19.19 and a 12-month high of $32.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $314.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $337.99 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 6.94%. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. 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.