JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 78.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 177,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 78,254 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.70% of United Fire Group worth $5,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UFCS. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 147.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,380 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 26,469 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 821,566 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,195,000 after acquiring an additional 17,415 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the third quarter valued at about $256,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in United Fire Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 502,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,514,000 after buying an additional 2,925 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 103,210 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at United Fire Group

In related news, Director James Noyce purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.97 per share, with a total value of $53,940.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,316 shares in the company, valued at $736,712.52. This trade represents a 7.90 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total transaction of $70,825.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 441,863 shares in the company, valued at $12,517,978.79. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jones Trading raised United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

United Fire Group Trading Down 0.1 %

United Fire Group stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $27.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,689. United Fire Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.04 and a twelve month high of $31.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.46. The firm has a market cap of $704.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.33.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. United Fire Group's payout ratio is 26.89%.

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.