Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.97 and traded as high as $18.75. Donegal Group shares last traded at $18.02, with a volume of 145,401 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on DGICA. Weiss Ratings lowered Donegal Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Donegal Group Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a market cap of $693.21 million and a P/E ratio of 10.44. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $236.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.83 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 10.31%. As a group, analysts expect that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Donegal Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.1925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $0.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Donegal Group’s payout ratio is presently 43.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Donegal Group news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 9,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.62 per share, with a total value of $170,596.84. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 14,136,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,088,495.42. This trade represents a 0.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 139,487 shares of company stock valued at $2,392,488. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Donegal Group by 139.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,413 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 22,978 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Donegal Group by 7.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 109,791 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 8,004 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 91,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Donegal Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $689,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Donegal Group by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,824 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

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.