Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Major Shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal Buys 8,500 Shares

Key Points

• Major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co. Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group on May 15 at an average price of $17.16, lifting its stake to 14,013,781 shares. The company also made several similar insider purchases in recent weeks.
• Donegal Group’s latest quarterly results missed analyst expectations, with EPS of $0.32 versus the $0.40 forecast and revenue of $236.0 million versus $247.83 million expected.
• The insurer raised its quarterly dividend to $0.1925 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 4.4%. Meanwhile, analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $18.00 price target.

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.16 per share, for a total transaction of $145,860.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 14,013,781 shares in the company, valued at $240,476,481.96. This represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 Monday, May 18th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.33 per share, for a total transaction of $147,305.00.
• On Wednesday, May 13th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were 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 shares were 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 shares were 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 bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.06 per share, for a total transaction of $145,010.00.
• On Tuesday, May 5th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.50 per share, for a total transaction of $140,250.00.
• On Tuesday, March 3rd, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.63 per share, for a total transaction of $158,670.00.

Donegal Group Price Performance

Shares of DGICA traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $17.57. 38,393 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 119,587. 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 52-week low of $16.11 and a 52-week high of $21.12. The company's 50-day moving average price is $17.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.54. The company has a market cap of $651.12 million, a P/E ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.01.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $236.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $247.83 million. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 6.77%. On average, analysts anticipate that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGICA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Donegal Group from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Donegal Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Donegal Group by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 3,733 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of Donegal Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 28,300 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Donegal Group by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 12,215 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Donegal Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 132,848 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,576,000 after buying an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Donegal Group by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,009 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Donegal Group Company Profile

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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