Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) SVP Noland Rone Deas, Jr. Sells 24,000 Shares of Stock

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) SVP Noland Rone Deas, Jr. sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.47, for a total value of $467,280.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,592.81. This trade represents a 87.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Donegal Group Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:DGICA opened at $19.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $727.66 million, a PE ratio of 10.18 and a beta of -0.01. 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 current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.89.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.11. Donegal Group had a net margin of 7.38% and a return on equity of 10.77%. The business had revenue of $241.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.53 million. Analysts predict that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Donegal Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.1925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Donegal Group’s payout ratio is 39.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DGICA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Donegal Group from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Donegal Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGICA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,737,266 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,846,000 after acquiring an additional 7,345 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Donegal Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,008,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,549,000 after acquiring an additional 39,181 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Donegal Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 534,703 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,685,000 after purchasing an additional 11,891 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Donegal Group by 5.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 392,711 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,747,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Donegal Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 391,729 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,827,000 after purchasing an additional 3,290 shares in the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.