Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Key Points

• Donegal Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.43, exceeding expectations by $0.07, while revenue was $233.81 million, falling short of the consensus estimate of $247.21 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1825, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.73 and a yield of 4.21%.
• Insider activity included major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchasing 71,000 shares, increasing their ownership of the stock by 0.53%.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.07, Zacks reports. Donegal Group had a net margin of 8.33% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $233.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $247.21 million.

Donegal Group Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ DGICA traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.33. The company had a trading volume of 134,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,797. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.05. The company has a market capitalization of $625.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.01. Donegal Group has a 12-month low of $13.35 and a 12-month high of $21.12. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.1825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Donegal Group's dividend payout ratio is 30.67%.

Insider Activity at Donegal Group

In other Donegal Group news, CAO David Benjamin Bawel sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.83, for a total transaction of $178,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 20,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $404,869.11. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William Albert Folmar sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.67, for a total value of $372,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 950 shares in the company, valued at $19,636.50. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 163,536 shares of company stock worth $3,265,365. 3.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 7.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 109,791 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 8,004 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Donegal Group by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 91,814 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,802,000 after buying an additional 1,696 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 139.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,413 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 22,978 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Donegal Group during the first quarter valued at $689,000. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Donegal Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Donegal Group from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Donegal Group Company Profile

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.