Voya Investment Management LLC Makes New $372,000 Investment in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Voya Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,069 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $372,000. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.05% of United Fire Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 66,148 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 37,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in United Fire Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 55,882 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total transaction of $70,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 441,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,517,978.79. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Fire Group Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ UFCS traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $28.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,473. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $31.70. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $27.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.34. The firm has a market cap of $726.88 million, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.49.

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

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. United Fire Group's payout ratio is presently 25.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UFCS. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jones Trading restated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of United Fire Group in a report on Monday.

United Fire Group 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.