Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Trims Position in Donegal Group, Inc. $DGICA

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in Donegal Group by 12.3%, owning approximately $2.27 million worth of shares after selling 16,205 shares.
• Hedge funds made significant adjustments, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services increasing its position by 24.1% and GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its stake by an impressive 4,607.4%.
• Donegal Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1825, yielding 3.8%, and reported a net margin of 8.33% with earnings per share of $0.43 for the last quarter.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its stake in Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Free Report) by 12.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,565 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 16,205 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Donegal Group worth $2,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Donegal Group by 170.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 103,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,598,000 after purchasing an additional 65,146 shares in the last quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired a new stake in Donegal Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,039,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Donegal Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $704,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in Donegal Group by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 89,437 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 41,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Donegal Group during the first quarter worth $797,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.53 per share, with a total value of $390,600.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 13,654,579 shares in the company, valued at $266,673,927.87. The trade was a 0.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 212,958 shares of company stock valued at $3,965,746. Company insiders own 3.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Donegal Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Donegal Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Donegal Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $18.00.

Donegal Group Stock Performance

Shares of Donegal Group stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $19.04. 102,601 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 140,329. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.06 and a 12-month high of $21.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $695.15 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

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

Donegal Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $0.1825 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.67%.

Donegal Group 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.