Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Sets New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Shares of Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $20.51 and last traded at $20.21, with a volume of 18061 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.55.

The insurance provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.38. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 5.14%.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a $0.1825 dividend. This is an increase from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Donegal Group from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Donegal Group news, EVP William Daniel Delamater sold 12,000 shares of Donegal Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.77, for a total transaction of $213,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,495 shares in the company, valued at $26,566.15. The trade was a 88.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 14,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.06 per share, with a total value of $250,782.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 13,189,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,008,997.38. This represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 105,908 shares of company stock worth $1,865,086 and have sold 47,119 shares worth $845,651. Company insiders own 6.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Donegal Group by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Donegal Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 364,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,371,000 after buying an additional 4,933 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Donegal Group during the 4th quarter worth about $128,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Donegal Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Institutional investors own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

Donegal Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $696.74 million, a P/E ratio of 12.86 and a beta of -0.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.27.

About Donegal Group

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.