Do Hedge Funds Love United Fire Group, Inc. (UFCS)?

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We already know that not all hedge funds are bullish on the stock and some hedge funds actually cashed in their positions entirely. Intriguingly, Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management cashed in the biggest investment of all the investors studied by Insider Monkey, comprising close to $3 million in stock, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $1 million worth of shares.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS). These stocks are AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR), Boston Private Financial Hldg Inc (NASDAQ:BPFH), Phibro Animal Health Corp (NASDAQ:PAHC), and Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DK). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble UFCS’s market valuation.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
AIR 17 88041 1
BPFH 14 77322 -2
PAHC 11 17071 -2
DK 15 230052 -3

As you can see these stocks had an average of 14 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $103 million. That figure was $22 million in UFCS’s case. AAR Corp. (NYSE:AIR) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Phibro Animal Health Corp (NASDAQ:PAHC) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS) is even less popular than PAHC. Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case more research is warranted.

Disclosure: None

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