Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $20.85 and last traded at $20.60, with a volume of 50129 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Donegal Group from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Donegal Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $736.30 million, a PE ratio of 13.59 and a beta of -0.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.91 and a 200-day moving average of $16.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $245.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.73 million. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 5.14%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Donegal Group Inc. will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a $0.1825 dividend. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. This is a positive change from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Donegal Group

In related news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.49 per share, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,164,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,080,494.28. This trade represents a 0.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO David Benjamin Bawel sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.83, for a total transaction of $178,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $404,869.11. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 213,147 shares of company stock valued at $3,975,328 and have sold 151,688 shares valued at $2,913,186. 6.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,804,968 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,923,000 after purchasing an additional 27,213 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Donegal Group by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 946,432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,578,000 after buying an additional 19,174 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Donegal Group by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 429,106 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,638,000 after buying an additional 97,795 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Donegal Group by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 267,692 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,255,000 after buying an additional 31,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Donegal Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 223,593 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,459,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.