Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

Donegal Group Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of DGICA opened at $15.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $506.24 million, a P/E ratio of 94.75 and a beta of -0.06. Donegal Group has a 12-month low of $12.26 and a 12-month high of $15.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.94.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $246.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.00 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 0.76% and a return on equity of 0.89%. Equities research analysts expect that Donegal Group will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Donegal Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.172 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 431.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Donegal Group news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 9,024 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.96 per share, for a total transaction of $134,999.04. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,104,114 shares in the company, valued at $181,077,545.44. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Donegal Group news, VP Vincent Anthony Viozzi sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.24, for a total value of $457,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,738.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 9,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.96 per share, for a total transaction of $134,999.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,104,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,077,545.44. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 139,437 shares of company stock worth $2,062,143. 6.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Donegal Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $448,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Donegal Group by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Donegal Group by 95.2% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 40,407 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 19,707 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Donegal Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Donegal Group by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 129,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 5,416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

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.