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

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.06 per share, for a total transaction of $145,010.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 13,963,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $238,212,260.24. The trade was a 0.06% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Friday, May 8th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,077 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.13 per share, with a total value of $138,359.01.
• On Tuesday, May 5th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 acquired at an average price of $17.63 per share, for a total transaction of $158,670.00.

Donegal Group Price Performance

Donegal Group stock opened at $17.21 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.11 and a 1-year high of $21.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.64. The company has a market capitalization of $636.82 million, a P/E ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.01.

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

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.1925 per share. This is a boost from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Donegal Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donegal Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group in the third quarter worth about $799,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 valued at $29,846,000 after purchasing an additional 7,345 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Donegal Group by 44.9% in 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 during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Donegal Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Donegal Group by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 23,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares during the period. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.