Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Purchases 27,748 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 30.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,291 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,748 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.47% of United Fire Group worth $3,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of United Fire Group by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,061,000 after buying an additional 78,254 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in United Fire Group by 87.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 142,996 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 66,756 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $980,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the third quarter valued at about $575,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of United Fire Group by 147.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,380 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 26,469 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on UFCS. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jones Trading raised shares of United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

United Fire Group Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:UFCS traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.97. 11,908 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 125,120. The firm has a market capitalization of $684.53 million, a P/E ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average is $27.43 and its 200-day moving average is $26.17. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.04 and a 12-month high of $31.70.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.64. United Fire Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 8.84%. On average, research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. United Fire Group's dividend payout ratio is 26.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James Noyce purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.97 per share, for a total transaction of $53,940.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 27,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $736,712.52. This trade represents a 7.90 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total value of $70,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 441,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,517,978.79. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.