Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Major Shareholder Buys $138,359.01 in Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co. Donegal bought 8,077 shares of Donegal Group at an average price of $17.13, a transaction worth about $138,359. The purchase lifted its stake to 13,971,281 shares.
• Donegal Group recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.1925 per share from $0.18, implying a $0.77 annualized dividend and a 4.5% yield. The payout ratio is 43.02%.
• The company missed Wall Street expectations in its latest quarterly results, reporting EPS of $0.32 versus $0.40 expected and revenue of $236.0 million versus $247.83 million expected. Analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $18.00.

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,077 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.13 per share, with a total value of $138,359.01. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 13,971,281 shares in the company, valued at $239,328,043.53. The trade was a 0.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, May 7th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired 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 purchased 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 cost of $17.63 per share, with a total value of $158,670.00.

Donegal Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:DGICA opened at $17.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.11 and a 52 week high of $21.12. The firm has a market cap of $636.82 million, a PE ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.01. The firm's fifty day moving average is $17.28 and its 200-day moving average is $18.64.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $236.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.83 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 10.41%. Sell-side analysts predict that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.1925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from Donegal Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Donegal Group's payout ratio is currently 43.02%.

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Donegal Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,737,266 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,846,000 after acquiring an additional 7,345 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,008,217 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,549,000 after purchasing an additional 39,181 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Donegal Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 534,703 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,685,000 after purchasing an additional 11,891 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Donegal Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 391,729 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,827,000 after purchasing an additional 3,290 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Donegal Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 371,211 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,417,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares in the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DGICA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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 shares of Donegal Group from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.00.

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.

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