Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

Donegal Group Stock Performance

Shares of DGICA stock opened at $13.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $445.80 million, a PE ratio of 83.44 and a beta of -0.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Donegal Group has a 52-week low of $13.10 and a 52-week high of $15.76.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $239.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.10 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 0.55% and a return on equity of 0.15%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Donegal Group will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.172 dividend. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This is a positive change from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Donegal Group’s payout ratio is currently 431.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DGICA. CWM LLC increased its stake in Donegal Group by 170.9% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Donegal Group by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,325 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Donegal Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $124,000. Lewis Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Donegal Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Donegal Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

About Donegal Group

Donegal Group Inc, an insurance holding company, provides property and casualty insurance to businesses and individuals. It operates through three segments: Investment Function, Personal Lines of Insurance, and Commercial Lines of Insurance. The company offers private passenger automobile policies that provide protection against liability for bodily injury and property damage arising from automobile accidents, as well as protection against loss from damage to automobiles; and homeowners policies, which provide coverage for damage to residences and their contents from a range of perils, including fire, lightning, windstorm, and theft, as well as liability of the insured arising from injury to other persons or their property.