Insider Buying: Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Major Shareholder Buys $146,030.00 in Stock

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.18 per share, with a total value of $146,030.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 13,979,781 shares in the company, valued at $240,172,637.58. This represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

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

Donegal Group Stock Performance

DGICA opened at $17.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $632.81 million, a PE ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.20 and a 200-day moving average of $18.55. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.11 and a 52-week high of $21.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). Donegal Group had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 6.77%.The business had revenue of $236.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.83 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.1925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is a boost from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Donegal Group’s payout ratio is presently 43.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DGICA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Donegal Group from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Donegal Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGICA. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 22,978 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Donegal Group by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 109,791 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 8,004 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Donegal Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 91,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Donegal Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $689,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Donegal Group by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,824 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 5,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

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.