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

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.43 per share, with a total value of $194,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 14,282,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,518,126.53. This represents a 0.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, September 3rd, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,595 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.53 per share, for a total transaction of $187,390.35.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 9,257 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.17 per share, for a total transaction of $177,456.69.
• On Monday, August 31st, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.18 per share, for a total transaction of $191,800.00.
• On Thursday, August 27th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.95 per share, with a total value of $189,500.00.
• On Wednesday, August 26th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 9,508 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.11 per share, with a total value 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, for a total transaction of $190,600.00.
• On Friday, August 21st, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.68 per share, for a total transaction of $186,800.00.
• On Thursday, August 20th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,815 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.66 per share, for a total transaction of $183,147.90.
• On Wednesday, August 19th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,700 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.61 per share, for a total transaction of $180,517.00.
• On Monday, August 17th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.52 per share, with a total value of $185,200.00.

Donegal Group Stock Up 0.2%

DGICA stock opened at $19.45 on Friday. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.11 and a 1-year high of $21.06. The stock has a market cap of $721.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08 and a beta of -0.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.99 and its 200 day moving average is $17.93.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $241.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.53 million. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 7.38%. Sell-side analysts predict that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.1925 per share. This represents a $0.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donegal Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 579.4% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 169,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,394,000 after buying an additional 144,853 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Donegal Group by 41.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 276,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,746,000 after buying an additional 80,614 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Donegal Group by 145.0% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 67,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 40,078 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Donegal Group by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 25,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 12,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 12,936 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in 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, August 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Donegal Group from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Donegal Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

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.