Short Interest in Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) Expands By 25.6%

Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 321,300 shares, a growth of 25.6% from the April 30th total of 255,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 125,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DGICA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Donegal Group from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Donegal Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st.

Donegal Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:DGICA traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.48. 85,219 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 89,209. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Donegal Group has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $21.12. The company has a market cap of $703.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.28.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.38. Donegal Group had a net margin of 5.14% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The business had revenue of $245.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.73 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Donegal Group will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.1825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. This is an increase from Donegal Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Donegal Group's payout ratio is currently 35.61%.

Insider Transactions at Donegal Group

In other news, VP Christina Marie Hoffman sold 11,000 shares of Donegal Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.83, for a total value of $218,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,405 shares in the company, valued at $87,351.15. The trade was a 71.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Vincent Anthony Viozzi sold 19,173 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $388,061.52. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $164,814.32. This trade represents a 70.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 141,839 shares of company stock worth $2,726,856 and sold 181,193 shares worth $3,584,302. Company insiders own 6.63% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGICA. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Donegal Group by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 235,746 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,647,000 after purchasing an additional 130,489 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 429,106 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,638,000 after buying an additional 97,795 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 351.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 107,951 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,670,000 after buying an additional 84,029 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 170.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 103,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,598,000 after buying an additional 65,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 137.8% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 104,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 60,491 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.96% of the company's stock.

Donegal Group Company Profile

Donegal Group Inc, an insurance holding company, provides property and casualty insurance to businesses and individuals. It operates through three segments: Investment Function, Personal Lines of Insurance, and Commercial Lines of Insurance. The company offers private passenger automobile policies that provide protection against liability for bodily injury and property damage arising from automobile accidents, as well as protection against loss from damage to automobiles; and homeowners policies, which provide coverage for damage to residences and their contents from a range of perils, including fire, lightning, windstorm, and theft, as well as liability of the insured arising from injury to other persons or their property.