Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,110 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.53% of United Fire Group worth $3,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in United Fire Group by 576.4% during the third 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. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,098 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new position in United Fire Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $231,000. Finally, Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Fire Group during the 4th quarter worth $255,000. Institutional investors own 62.68% of the company’s stock.

United Fire Group Stock Performance

Shares of United Fire Group stock opened at $29.05 on Tuesday. United Fire Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.04 and a fifty-two week high of $31.70. The company has a market capitalization of $737.32 million, a P/E ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.51 and a 200 day moving average of $25.09.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 4.94%. Analysts forecast that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

United Fire Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. United Fire Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.89%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Corey Lynn Ruehle sold 2,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.60, for a total value of $78,854.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,523 shares in the company, valued at $370,680.80. This represents a 17.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,664 shares of company stock worth $217,954 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UFCS shares. Jones Trading upgraded United Fire Group to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded United Fire Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

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.