Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 34,457 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $980,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.14% of United Fire Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UFCS. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 82.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,864 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 3,098 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the third quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Fire Group during the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.68% of the company's stock.

United Fire Group Trading Up 3.5 %

UFCS traded up $0.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 147,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,265. The firm has a market capitalization of $675.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.33. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $27.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.05. United Fire Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.04 and a twelve month high of $31.70.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. United Fire Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on UFCS shares. StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 2,500 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $68,275.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 446,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,203,828.53. The trade was a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James Noyce purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.97 per share, with a total value of $53,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $736,712.52. This represents a 7.90 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.99% of the stock is currently owned by 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.