United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS) experienced a dramatic increase in short interest, rising by 8,066.7% in July to a total of 343,000 shares.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings, with 62.68% of the company's stock now owned by these entities, highlighting strong confidence in the company's future.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 25.30%.

United Fire Group, Inc (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 343,000 shares, agrowthof8,066.7% from the June 30th total of 4,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 113,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 113,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Institutional Trading of United Fire Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position 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 worth $39,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55,616 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,399,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,230,000 after purchasing an additional 49,290 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 583,334 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,185,000 after purchasing an additional 31,140 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 76.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 252,449 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,437,000 after purchasing an additional 109,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 220,022 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UFCS has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Jones Trading reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of United Fire Group in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of United Fire Group stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.22. The company had a trading volume of 49,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,828. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $667.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.49. United Fire Group 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 earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.08. United Fire Group had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $308.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.18 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Fire Group will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. United Fire Group's payout ratio is currently 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.

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