Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Major Shareholder Purchases $145,860.00 in Stock

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.16 per share, for a total transaction of $145,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,013,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $240,476,481.96. This represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Mutual Insurance Co Donegal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 18th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.33 per share, for a total transaction of $147,305.00.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.86 per share, for a total transaction of $143,310.00.
• On Monday, May 11th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.18 per share, for a total transaction of $146,030.00.
• On Friday, May 8th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,077 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.13 per share, for a total transaction of $138,359.01.
• On Thursday, May 7th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.06 per share, for a total transaction of $145,010.00.
• On Tuesday, May 5th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.50 per share, for a total transaction of $140,250.00.
• On Tuesday, March 3rd, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 9,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.63 per share, for a total transaction of $158,670.00.

Donegal Group Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:DGICA traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.57. 38,393 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 119,587. The stock has a market capitalization of $651.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.01. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.11 and a 52 week high of $21.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $236.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $247.83 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 10.31%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.1925 per share. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Donegal Group’s payout ratio is currently 43.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGICA. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Donegal Group by 139.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,413 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 22,978 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 7.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 109,791 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 8,004 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 91,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $689,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 22.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,824 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares in the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on DGICA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Donegal Group from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Donegal Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Donegal Group Company Profile

Donegal Group, Inc (NASDAQ: DGICA) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Marietta, Pennsylvania. Through a network of independent agencies, the company offers a suite of personal and commercial insurance products. Its underwriting subsidiaries provide homeowners, automobile, farmowner, commercial multi-peril, surety and umbrella coverages designed to meet the needs of individuals, families and businesses.

The company’s origins date back to 1925 with the formation of Donegal Mutual Insurance Company to serve rural communities in Pennsylvania.