Trexquant Investment LP Acquires Shares of 40,579 Donegal Group, Inc. $DGICA

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP acquired 40,579 shares of Donegal Group, Inc. valued at approximately $797,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the insurance provider.
• Donegal Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1825 per share, which corresponds to an annual yield of 3.9% based on a payout ratio of 30.67%.
• The company's stock has experienced a decline of 3.1% recently, with current trading at $18.86 and a market cap of $688.58 million.

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 40,579 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $797,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.11% of Donegal Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 170.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 103,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,598,000 after acquiring an additional 65,146 shares in the last quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Donegal Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,039,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Donegal Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $704,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 131,770 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,038,000 after acquiring an additional 42,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 87.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 89,437 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 41,763 shares in the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Donegal Group

In other news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.84 per share, with a total value of $356,800.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 13,500,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,857,429.68. This trade represents a 0.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 192,958 shares of company stock worth $3,575,146. Company insiders own 6.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Donegal Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Donegal Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Donegal Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Donegal Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:DGICA traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.48. 128,358 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,342. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $17.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $711.20 million and a PE ratio of 8.18. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.06 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 (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $233.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $247.21 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 8.33% and a return on equity of 14.33%. Equities research analysts expect that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Donegal Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.67%.

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.