Mutual Insurance Co Donegal Acquires 8,500 Shares of Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Stock

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.50 per share, for a total transaction of $140,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,946,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,112,366. This represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 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 Tuesday, March 3rd, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 9,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.63 per share, with a total value of $158,670.00.

Donegal Group Stock Down 0.1%

Donegal Group stock opened at $17.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.28 and its 200-day moving average is $18.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $636.77 million, a PE ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.01. Donegal Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.11 and a fifty-two week high of $21.12.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). Donegal Group had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The firm had revenue of $236.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.83 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a $0.1925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Donegal Group’s payout ratio is 43.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Donegal Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,737,266 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,846,000 after buying an additional 7,345 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 5.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 166,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,075 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 44.9% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 36,749 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 11,386 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Donegal Group in the first quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Donegal Group by 14.7% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 23,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 3,006 shares during the period. 27.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DGICA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Donegal Group from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Donegal Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

About Donegal Group

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.