Donegal Group (DGICA) Competitors

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) and Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Which has more risk & volatility, HTH or DGICA?

Hilltop has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Donegal Group has a beta of 0.01, suggesting that its stock price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings and valuation, HTH or DGICA?

Hilltop has higher revenue and earnings than Donegal Group. Donegal Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hilltop, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hilltop	$1.61B	1.25	$113.21M	$1.97	15.86
Donegal Group	$989.60M	0.69	$50.86M	$2.05	9.28

Is HTH or DGICA a better dividend stock?

Hilltop pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Donegal Group pays an annual dividend of $0.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Hilltop pays out 36.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Donegal Group pays out 35.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Hilltop has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years and Donegal Group has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Donegal Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in HTH or DGICA?

57.1% of Hilltop shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.0% of Donegal Group shares are held by institutional investors. 29.9% of Hilltop shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Donegal Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer HTH or DGICA?

In the previous week, Hilltop had 6 more articles in the media than Donegal Group. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Hilltop and 4 mentions for Donegal Group. Hilltop's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Donegal Group's score of 0.32 indicating that Hilltop is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hilltop	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Donegal Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is HTH or DGICA more profitable?

Hilltop has a net margin of 7.87% compared to Donegal Group's net margin of 7.06%. Donegal Group's return on equity of 12.82% beat Hilltop's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hilltop	7.87%	5.79%	0.80%
Donegal Group	7.06%	12.82%	2.91%

Do analysts recommend HTH or DGICA?

Hilltop currently has a consensus target price of $33.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.63%. Donegal Group has a consensus target price of $18.00, suggesting a potential downside of 5.41%. Given Hilltop's higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Hilltop is more favorable than Donegal Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hilltop	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Donegal Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Summary

Hilltop beats Donegal Group on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.