Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 1,160 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Wells Fargo & Company MN cut its holdings in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 162,784 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,160 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in United Fire Group were worth $4,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of United Fire Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $119,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of United Fire Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $131,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new stake in United Fire Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in United Fire Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $231,000. 62.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jones Trading raised United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Fire Group news, Director Christopher R. Drahozal sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total value of $70,825.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 441,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,517,978.79. The trade was a 0.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James Noyce acquired 2,000 shares of United Fire Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.97 per share, with a total value of $53,940.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of UFCS stock opened at $27.20 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $690.69 million, a P/E ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 0.33. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.04 and a 1 year high of $31.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.40.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.