Donegal Group, Inc. $DGICA Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Donegal Group, Inc. by 2.1%, owning approximately 946,432 shares valued at $18,578,000
• Analysts have lowered their rating on Donegal Group from "buy" to "hold", with a current consensus price target of $18.00
• Donegal Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1825 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 946,432 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,174 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 2.66% of Donegal Group worth $18,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Donegal Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 29,572 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 16,101 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Donegal Group by 78.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Donegal Group by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,875 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Donegal Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 107,113 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on DGICA. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Donegal Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Donegal Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Donegal Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.00.

Donegal Group Price Performance

Donegal Group stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.43. The company had a trading volume of 91,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,716. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $18.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.50. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.06 and a 1 year high of $21.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $672.88 million and a P/E ratio of 7.75.

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

Donegal Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.1825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Donegal Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Charles King sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.51, for a total transaction of $78,795.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,775. This trade represents a 64.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 20,000 shares of Donegal Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.84 per share, for a total transaction of $356,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,500,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,857,429.68. This represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 59,356 shares of company stock worth $1,045,468. Insiders own 3.48% 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.