Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 27,850 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,402 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 27,850 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.45% of United Fire Group worth $3,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UFCS. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in 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. Centiva Capital LP grew its holdings in United Fire Group by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 12,860 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the third quarter worth about $256,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,740,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in United Fire Group by 576.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,411 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 4,611 shares during the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on UFCS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jones Trading upgraded United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 13th.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of UFCS stock traded down $2.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.94. 130,981 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 124,724. The company has a market cap of $683.76 million, a P/E ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.45. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.04 and a 12 month high of $31.70. The company's 50 day moving average price is $27.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.88.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. United Fire Group's payout ratio is currently 26.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Fire Group news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total transaction of $70,825.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James Noyce purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.97 per share, for a total transaction of $53,940.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.99% of the company's stock.

About United Fire Group

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.