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

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

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

Donegal Group Stock Performance

Shares of DGICA traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $19.55. 204,637 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 97,130. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $19.67 and its 200 day moving average is $17.62. Donegal Group has a 1-year low of $12.43 and a 1-year high of $21.12. The stock has a market cap of $705.76 million, a P/E ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 0.02.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $245.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.73 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 12.82%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Donegal Group will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Donegal Group

In other Donegal Group news, VP William Albert Folmar sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.67, for a total value of $372,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 950 shares in the company, valued at $19,636.50. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction on 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 owned 1,495 shares in the company, valued at $29,571.10. The trade was a 85.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 163,724 shares of company stock valued at $3,269,040 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Donegal Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 17,952 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Donegal Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 29,572 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Donegal Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 223,593 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Donegal Group by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 16,101 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 28,509 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.