Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) Increases Dividend to $0.17 Per Share

Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of 0.172 per share by the insurance provider on Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This is a boost from Donegal Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17.

Donegal Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Donegal Group has a payout ratio of 60.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Donegal Group to earn $0.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 85.0%.

Donegal Group Stock Performance

Donegal Group stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.02. 61,144 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 42,493. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $13.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $468.17 million, a PE ratio of 100.14 and a beta of -0.07. Donegal Group has a one year low of $13.10 and a one year high of $15.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $239.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.10 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 0.48% and a return on equity of 0.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Donegal Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donegal Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its position in Donegal Group by 58.1% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 1,924 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Donegal Group by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 23,994 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Donegal Group by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,922 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Donegal Group by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,047 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Donegal Group by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,182 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Donegal Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

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.