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 report report published on Thursday.

Donegal Group Stock Down 7.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:DGICA opened at $14.10 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $470.84 million, a P/E ratio of 88.13 and a beta of -0.05. Donegal Group has a 52-week low of $12.26 and a 52-week high of $15.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.79.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $246.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.00 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 0.76% and a return on equity of 0.89%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Donegal Group will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $0.172 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.88%. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 431.25%.

Insider Transactions at Donegal Group

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Donegal Group in the second quarter worth $448,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Donegal Group by 95.2% in the second 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 period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Donegal Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 4.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 129,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 5,416 shares in the last quarter. 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.