United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) Stock Position Decreased by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,486 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 39,699 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of United Fire Group worth $3,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,623 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 21,352 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in United Fire Group by 122.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 98,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,809,000 after purchasing an additional 54,332 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased 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 worth $39,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55,616 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in United Fire Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 103,210 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in United Fire Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $231,000. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UFCS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jones Trading restated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday.

United Fire Group Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:UFCS traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $28.40. The stock had a trading volume of 75,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,786. The company has a market cap of $722.81 million, a PE ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.51. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.04 and a 1-year high of $31.70.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.70 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $308.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.18 million. Research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. United Fire Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.30%.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In other news, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total transaction of $68,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 446,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,203,828.53. This represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.12% of the company's stock.

United Fire Group Company Profile

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.