Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Donegal Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:DGICA opened at $14.43 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.85. Donegal Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.26 and a fifty-two week high of $15.45. The company has a market capitalization of $481.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.19 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.04. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 0.89% and a net margin of 0.76%. The business had revenue of $246.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Donegal Group will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Donegal Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.172 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 431.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.50 per share, for a total transaction of $120,838.50. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,123,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,661,377.50. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 8,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.50 per share, with a total value of $120,838.50. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,123,065 shares in the company, valued at $163,661,377.50. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Vincent Anthony Viozzi sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.24, for a total transaction of $457,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $150,738.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 139,437 shares of company stock worth $2,062,143. 6.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Donegal Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $293,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Donegal Group by 125.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 5,757 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 111,216 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 34.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,183,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,728,000 after purchasing an additional 304,477 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Donegal Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $137,000. 27.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.