Insider Buying: Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Major Shareholder Purchases 8,032 Shares of Stock

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.61 per share, with a total value of $141,443.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 13,480,977 shares in the company, valued at $237,400,004.97. This represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 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 Friday, August 29th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 20,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.84 per share, for a total transaction of $356,800.00.
• On Tuesday, August 26th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 15,815 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.45 per share, with a total value of $275,971.75.
• On Wednesday, August 27th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 15,509 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.49 per share, for a total transaction of $271,252.41.

Donegal Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:DGICA traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $18.20. 99,886 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 128,901. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.06 and its 200-day moving average is $18.50. The stock has a market cap of $664.30 million and a P/E ratio of 7.64. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.06 and a 1-year high of $21.12.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $233.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $247.21 million. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 8.33%. Equities research analysts expect that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $0.1825 dividend. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio is 30.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DGICA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Donegal Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Donegal Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Donegal Group by 477.2% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,961 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 422.6% in the 2nd 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 period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 443.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,928 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 4,022 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 78.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Donegal Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $101,000. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.