Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Key Points

• Donegal Group has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen.
• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price for Donegal Group from $17.00 to $18.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating.
• Insider trading activity shows Kevin Gerard Burke sold 27,000 shares while Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 71,000 shares, reflecting varying sentiments among insiders.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Donegal Group from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Donegal Group Price Performance

Shares of DGICA traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.86. 153,029 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 125,393. The company has a market cap of $644.51 million, a PE ratio of 7.51 and a beta of 0.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.03. Donegal Group has a 52-week low of $13.35 and a 52-week high of $21.12.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.07. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 8.33%. The business had revenue of $233.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $247.21 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Donegal Group will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Donegal Group

In other Donegal Group news, VP Sanjay Pandey sold 12,982 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.27, for a total transaction of $263,145.14. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,449 shares in the company, valued at $150,991.23. This represents a 63.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Daniel Delamater sold 8,696 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.78, for a total value of $172,006.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,571.10. This represents a 85.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 163,724 shares of company stock worth $3,269,040. 6.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Donegal Group during the fourth quarter worth $68,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Donegal Group by 78.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Donegal Group by 47.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,225 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Donegal Group by 117.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,420 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 4,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Donegal Group during the fourth quarter worth about $162,000. 27.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Donegal Group

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.