Insider Buying: Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Major Shareholder Buys $185,200.00 in Stock

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.52 per share, for a total transaction of $185,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 14,164,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,330,077.32. This represents a 0.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own more than 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, August 20th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 9,815 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.66 per share, with a total value 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 Thursday, August 6th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 18,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.67 per share, for a total transaction of $354,060.00.
• On Friday, June 12th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 9,682 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.62 per share, with a total value of $170,596.84.
• On Thursday, June 11th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 9,900 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.56 per share, with a total value of $173,844.00.
• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 10,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.62 per share, for a total transaction of $166,200.00.
• On Monday, June 1st, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.76 per share, with a total value of $142,460.00.
• On Thursday, May 28th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.98 per share, for a total transaction of $144,330.00.
• On Tuesday, May 26th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.33 per share, with a total value of $147,305.00.
• On Friday, May 22nd, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.40 per share, with a total value of $147,900.00.

Donegal Group Price Performance

DGICA opened at $18.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67 and a beta of -0.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.11 and a 52 week high of $21.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.90.

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. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 7.38%.The firm had revenue of $241.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.53 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $0.1925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Donegal Group’s payout ratio is presently 39.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donegal Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGICA. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 579.4% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 169,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 144,853 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Donegal Group by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 276,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,746,000 after purchasing an additional 80,614 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Donegal Group by 145.0% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 67,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 40,078 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its position in Donegal Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 28,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Donegal Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $408,000. Institutional investors own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Donegal Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Donegal Group from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Donegal Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.