Insider Buying: Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Major Shareholder Acquires $190,600.00 in Stock

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.06 per share, with a total value of $190,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 14,214,206 shares in the company, valued at $270,922,766.36. The trade was a 0.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more 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 Friday, August 21st, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.68 per share, for a total transaction of $186,800.00.
• On Thursday, August 20th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 9,815 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.66 per share, for a total transaction of $183,147.90.
• On Wednesday, August 19th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,700 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.61 per share, with a total value of $180,517.00.
• On Monday, August 17th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.52 per share, with a total value of $185,200.00.
• On Thursday, August 6th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 18,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.67 per share, for a total transaction of $354,060.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 9,682 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.62 per share, for a total transaction of $170,596.84.
• On Thursday, June 11th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,900 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.56 per share, for a total transaction of $173,844.00.
• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.62 per share, with a total value of $166,200.00.
• On Monday, June 1st, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.76 per share, with a total value of $142,460.00.
• On Thursday, May 28th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.98 per share, with a total value of $144,330.00.

Donegal Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ DGICA traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.01. 23,178 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 127,371. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.85 and a beta of -0.01. Donegal Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.11 and a twelve month high of $21.06. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.89.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $241.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.53 million. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 7.38%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.1925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.90%.

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of Donegal Group by 579.4% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 169,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,394,000 after acquiring an additional 144,853 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Donegal Group by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 276,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,746,000 after purchasing an additional 80,614 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Donegal Group by 145.0% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 67,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 40,078 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Donegal Group by 44.9% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 11,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Donegal Group during the first quarter valued at about $223,000. Institutional investors own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DGICA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Donegal Group from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Donegal Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Donegal Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

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.