Barclays PLC Purchases 26,469 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 147.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,380 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 26,469 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.18% of United Fire Group worth $928,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UFCS. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in United Fire Group by 576.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 4,611 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 82.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,864 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 3,098 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $223,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UFCS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of United Fire Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Fire Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th.

Insider Activity at United Fire Group

In other news, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.60, for a total transaction of $78,854.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $370,680.80. This represents a 17.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Fire Group Stock Up 0.3 %

UFCS traded up $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 77,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,381. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $720.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.53. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $322.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $306.80 million. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 6.75% and a net margin of 4.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. United Fire Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.99%.

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.