Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) Short Interest Down 14.6% in January

Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 191,900 shares, a drop of 14.6% from the December 31st total of 224,800 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 92,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Donegal Group Price Performance

Shares of DGICA opened at $14.60 on Friday. Donegal Group has a twelve month low of $12.26 and a twelve month high of $17.00. The company has a market capitalization of $494.94 million, a P/E ratio of 19.21 and a beta of -0.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.52 and a 200 day moving average of $15.08. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.1725 dividend. This is a positive change from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Donegal Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Activity at Donegal Group

In other Donegal Group news, EVP William Daniel Delamater sold 9,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.77, for a total value of $161,260.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,125.83. This trade represents a 87.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 4,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.20 per share, for a total transaction of $62,882.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 12,514,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $190,216,326.40. The trade was a 0.03 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 466,377 shares of company stock valued at $7,696,509 and have sold 323,564 shares valued at $5,344,273. 6.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGICA. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Donegal Group by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 60,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 17,125 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 364,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,371,000 after acquiring an additional 4,933 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 82.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 105,257 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 47,447 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Donegal Group by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 64,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 18,132 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Donegal Group in the second quarter worth approximately $448,000. 27.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Donegal Group

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.