Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Donegal Group has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating by Zacks Research, indicating increased confidence among analysts in the company's potential for growth.
• The company recently posted earnings of $0.43 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.36, although revenue was below expectations at $233.81 million.
• Insider trading activity saw Director David Charles King sell 4,500 shares while Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 20,000 shares, showing mixed signals regarding insider confidence in the stock.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday, September 3rd,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Donegal Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Donegal Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Donegal Group has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $18.00.

Donegal Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of DGICA traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.99. 64,983 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,506. Donegal Group has a 52-week low of $14.06 and a 52-week high of $21.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.63. The firm has a market cap of $693.20 million and a P/E ratio of 7.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $233.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.21 million. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 8.33%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Donegal Group will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.1825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Donegal Group's payout ratio is presently 30.67%.

Insider Activity at Donegal Group

In other news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 19,352 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.24 per share, with a total value of $372,332.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 13,598,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,625,635.44. This trade represents a 0.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Charles King sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total value of $78,795.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,775. The trade was a 64.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 156,385 shares of company stock worth $2,873,001. 3.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGICA. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Donegal Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,343,000. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Donegal Group in the second quarter worth $3,699,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Donegal Group by 294.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 149,611 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 111,647 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Donegal Group by 33.0% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 356,154 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,132,000 after purchasing an additional 88,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Donegal Group by 78.7% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 191,376 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,832,000 after acquiring an additional 84,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.96% of the company's stock.

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.