Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 130,920 United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 130,920 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,740,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 0.52% of United Fire Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in United Fire Group by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 437,584 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $9,404,000 after buying an additional 45,405 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in United Fire Group during the 2nd quarter worth $4,770,000. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 71.9% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 178,155 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 74,540 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,986 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the third quarter valued at about $761,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company's stock.

United Fire Group Price Performance

Shares of UFCS stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.55. The company had a trading volume of 143,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,801. United Fire Group, Inc. has a one year low of $18.04 and a one year high of $31.67. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $23.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.95. The company has a market capitalization of $799.48 million, a PE ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.53.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.60. The company 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 prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. United Fire Group's payout ratio is 32.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UFCS. Piper Sandler raised shares of United Fire Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised United Fire Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th.

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.