Insider Buying: Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Major Shareholder Purchases 8,500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co. Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group at an average price of $17.06, worth about $145,010, and now directly owns nearly 13.96 million shares.
• The insider has been active recently, making additional purchases on May 8, May 5, and March 3, signaling continued buying interest in DGICA.
• Donegal Group recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.1925 per share, which implies a 4.5% yield, even as the company missed earnings and revenue estimates in its latest quarter.

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.06 per share, with a total value of $145,010.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,963,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,212,260.24. The trade was a 0.06% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Mutual Insurance Co Donegal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 8th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,077 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.13 per share, for a total transaction of $138,359.01.
• On Tuesday, May 5th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.50 per share, for a total transaction of $140,250.00.
• On Tuesday, March 3rd, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.63 per share, with a total value of $158,670.00.

Donegal Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:DGICA opened at $17.21 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $636.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.01. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.11 and a 1-year high of $21.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). Donegal Group had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 6.77%.The company had revenue of $236.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.83 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a $0.1925 dividend. This is a boost from Donegal Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Donegal Group's payout ratio is currently 43.02%.

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Donegal Group by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 3,733 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 28,300 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 12,215 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in Donegal Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 132,848 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Donegal Group by 79.1% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,009 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DGICA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Donegal Group from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Donegal Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.00.

Donegal Group Company Profile

Donegal Group, Inc NASDAQ: DGICA is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Marietta, Pennsylvania. Through a network of independent agencies, the company offers a suite of personal and commercial insurance products. Its underwriting subsidiaries provide homeowners, automobile, farmowner, commercial multi-peril, surety and umbrella coverages designed to meet the needs of individuals, families and businesses.

The company's origins date back to 1925 with the formation of Donegal Mutual Insurance Company to serve rural communities in Pennsylvania.

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