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 on May 13 at an average price of $16.86, bringing its total stake to nearly 14.0 million shares.
• The insider has been steadily adding to its position with several recent purchases in May, including multiple 8,500-share buys over consecutive trading days.
• Donegal Group also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.1925 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $18.00 price target.

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.86 per share, for a total transaction of $143,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,996,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,985,727.66. This trade represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more 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 Monday, May 11th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.18 per share, for a total transaction of $146,030.00.
• On Friday, May 8th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,077 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.13 per share, for a total transaction of $138,359.01.
• On Thursday, May 7th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.06 per share, for a total transaction of $145,010.00.
• On Tuesday, May 5th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired 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 stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.63 per share, for a total transaction of $158,670.00.

Donegal Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:DGICA traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 30,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 119,107. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.22 and a 200-day moving average of $18.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $636.84 million, a P/E ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.01. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.11 and a 12-month high of $21.12.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $236.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $247.83 million. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 6.77%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Donegal Group in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 576.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 79.1% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,009 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 422.6% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 1,377.6% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,768 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513 shares during the period. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Donegal Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Donegal Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.00.

About Donegal Group

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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