Mutual Insurance Co Donegal Acquires 8,328 Shares of Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Stock

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,328 shares of Donegal Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.48 per share, for a total transaction of $145,573.44. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 14,030,609 shares in the company, valued at $245,255,045.32. This represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major 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 Wednesday, May 20th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.43 per share, for a total transaction of $148,155.00.
• On Monday, May 18th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.33 per share, for a total transaction of $147,305.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.16 per share, for a total transaction of $145,860.00.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.86 per share, for a total transaction of $143,310.00.
• On Monday, May 11th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.18 per share, for a total transaction of $146,030.00.
• On Friday, May 8th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,077 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.13 per share, for a total transaction of $138,359.01.
• On Thursday, May 7th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.06 per share, for a total transaction of $145,010.00.
• On Tuesday, May 5th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.50 per share, for a total transaction of $140,250.00.
• On Tuesday, March 3rd, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 9,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.63 per share, for a total transaction of $158,670.00.

Donegal Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:DGICA traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.44. 78,244 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 119,895. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.11 and a 12 month high of $21.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.20 and a 200 day moving average of $18.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $646.15 million, a PE ratio of 9.74 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). Donegal Group had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 6.77%.The company had revenue of $236.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $247.83 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.1925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $0.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. This is an increase from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Donegal Group’s payout ratio is currently 43.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGICA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Donegal Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Donegal Group from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $799,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $507,000. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $291,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $485,000. Institutional investors 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.