Mutual Insurance Co Donegal Acquires 10,000 Shares of Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Stock

Key Points

• Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 10,000 Donegal Group shares at an average price of $19.18, investing $191,800 and increasing its direct ownership to 14.26 million shares, worth approximately $273.6 million.
• The major shareholder has made a series of additional purchases in recent weeks, signaling continued insider buying. Donegal Group shares opened at $19.17, with a 52-week range of $16.11 to $21.06.
• Donegal Group recently exceeded earnings expectations, reporting quarterly EPS of $0.53 versus the $0.42 consensus, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.1925, representing a 4.0% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $20 average price target.

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.18 per share, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 14,263,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $273,578,034.52. This represents a 0.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Tuesday, September 1st, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 9,257 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.17 per share, with a total value of $177,456.69.
• On Thursday, August 27th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.95 per share, for a total transaction of $189,500.00.
• On Wednesday, August 26th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,508 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.11 per share, for a total transaction of $181,697.88.
• On Monday, August 24th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.06 per share, with a total value of $190,600.00.
• On Friday, August 21st, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.68 per share, with a total value of $186,800.00.
• On Thursday, August 20th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,815 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.66 per share, with a total value of $183,147.90.
• On Wednesday, August 19th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,700 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.61 per share, with a total value of $180,517.00.
• On Monday, August 17th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.52 per share, for a total transaction of $185,200.00.
• On Thursday, August 6th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 18,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.67 per share, with a total value of $354,060.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 9,682 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.62 per share, with a total value of $170,596.84.

Donegal Group Price Performance

DGICA stock opened at $19.17 on Wednesday. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.11 and a 1 year high of $21.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $18.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.90. The firm has a market cap of $711.57 million, a P/E ratio of 9.93 and a beta of -0.01.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 7.38%.The firm had revenue of $241.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.53 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $0.1925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Donegal Group's payout ratio is presently 39.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DGICA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Donegal Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Donegal Group from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Donegal Group by 422.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Donegal Group by 1,377.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,768 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 31.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 443.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,928 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 4,022 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.96% of the company's stock.

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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